Growing Up
by Anonymous Girl Gamer
Summary: From child to adult, learn how the Princess of Sarasaland and the green capped plumber became the couple we know and love.
1. First Meeting

**Hi! So, I'm really excited about this one because this entire fic is about Luigi X Daisy, my OTP (my main OTP, anyway)! So, I'd like to tell you first of all that this is inspired by Steel Fairy's** ** _Throughout the Years_** **, at least the format anyway. So like Steel Fairy's story, it's basically one shots of the two characters growing up, but they're all related to each other, the main differences being the entire storyline and the fact that** ** _Throughout the Years_** **is about Mario and Luigi, not Luigi and Daisy. Anyway, I'd really recommend you check Steel Fairy's story out, it's great.  
Oh, and this is important: ****this fic is written under the assumption that the Mario bros were born and lived in the Mushroom Kingdom their entire lives.** **In this chapter, Mario and Luigi are three years old and the princesses are two, with Daisy being the youngest.  
So without further ado, let's get started! Oh yeah, and some chapters may not be as Luigi and Daisy related as others, but there'll always be some interaction between them. And in this chapter, it'll seem at first that there's no interactions but there will be towards the end.**

 **Disclaimer: All characters and settings are owned by Nintendo. Without Nintendo, this fanfic wouldn't have been possible.**

* * *

"Luigi!" called Mario.

"Yeah?"

"Come on! Mamma said we're going to Peach's castle!"

" _Princess_ Peach," corrected Mamma. Even at the age of three, the twin brothers were trained to call her by her royal name. However, they sometimes slipped up.

"Yay!" Luigi ran out of his room and into the hallway. Mamma barely glanced at them before speaking.

"Come on boys, into your stroller!"

"I don't wanna go into the stroller!" pouted Mario as she put him in the double buggy. "I wanna go walkies."

"No no, you're going in the stroller." She strapped him in, then turned to Luigi, who was already sitting down, waiting for her to proceed. "Look how good Luigi is."

Although they were so young, their personalities were starting to show. Mario was the more boisterous, the most likely to get his clothes dirty and the least likely to listen to his parents. Luigi, on the other hand, preferred to stay inside and make towers with his building blocks, and was never stubborn.

As Mrs Mario closed the door behind her and pushed her boys in the direction of the castle, she thought about how lucky she was that they were still alive. She'd never quite gotten over the day she'd checked in on her babies to find them gone. Thankfully they were delivered back home a couple of days later, after a lot of frantic searching of course. She'd never discovered the real story of their disappearance, but there were rumours that a monster that bore a resemblance to Prince Bowser of Dark Land had arrived from the future and gotten Kamek and some Toadies to grab seven babies, including Mario and Luigi. These babies were, apparently, star children, and very powerful. Mrs Mario had laughed. How could her kids have such powers? They were ordinary people.

Toadsworth, the Toad who looked after Princess Peach, believed these rumours. He said that Mario had helped save many babies all over the kingdom. He was clearly a little mad... but likeable. Over time herself and her husband made friends with Toadsworth and her boys ended up befriending the Princess, and that was how a commoner like her and her family started to visit the castle more and more often. It took a lot of getting used to, but now it was normal routine.

She reached the castle. Thank goodness it was a short walk. The security knew her well, and she got past them without any problems. She rapped on the giant door, and was met by Toadsworth.

"Ah, hello, Mrs Mario," he greeted.

"Hello Toadsworth!"

"Oh, so you've brought the boys! How wonderful. Welcome, Mario and Luigi."

The twins smiled.

The Toad coughed awkwardly. "Ahem... today, we have some visitors.

"Oh?"

"Yes, we have Queen Rose and King Daffodil of Sarasaland, with their baby daughter, Princess Daisy, my Princess's cousin. Um... I'm not sure if... if..."

"Ah Toadsworth, if this is a bad time then we'd better get going..."

"Hmm. It's a shame, to be frank. The Princess was really looking forward to seeing your boys. She was babbling on about them, bless her little heart. Maybe... maybe I will ask King Daffodil..."

"Oh no, no need for that..."

But he dashed, leaving the Marios waiting. He returned after a few minutes.

"He said it is alright. Boys! You may play in the Princess's playroom. Mrs Mario, you may see the King. I'll ask one of the Toads to make you a cup of tea."

"Yes Toadsworth, thank you." She then crouched down to Mario and Luigi's eye level, but she was really only speaking to the former. "Now, I want you to be nice to the Princess - both Princesses. Remember, they're only little."

"Okay!"

They ran up the red carpeted stairs and after opening a few doors, they found Peach's playroom. Two toddlers were building a castle together, the readhead being slightly smaller than the blonde. Peach had her curls tied up with a blue ribbon, and her pink dress was clean and new. Daisy, however, was a different matter, with chocolate stains on her orange clothes, and her short hair wild and loose.

"Hi Princess Peach!" said the Mario brothers.

Peach ran to them and gave them a big hug each. Meanwhile, Daisy eyed them warily.

"Hi," waved the older brother. Luigi didn't say anything, but looked at her curiously.

She went back to playing with the bricks, not acknowledging them.

"Can we play?" asked Mario. Without waiting for an answer, they helped the cousins in finishing their castle. It didn't turn out very well, and some of it fell apart, but they decided to play with it anyway.

"I'm de pwintheth o' de cathle," lisped Peach. She was only a few months younger than the Mario brothers, but couldn't speak half as coherently.

"And I'm the king," said Mario.

"I wanna be king too!" whined Luigi.

"No you're... uh... you have to do what we say cos I'm king and Peach... Princess Peach is the princess, see?"

"What about Daisy? Who's she going to be?"

They glanced at the orange princess, who'd lost interest in the castle and started playing with Peach's dolls. They quickly forgot her and continued with the game without her.

"Luigi, clean my floor!" said the boy in red.

"Weegee, cwean my floow!" mimicked Peach.

What Luigi had to do was get Peach's toy cleaning set and pretend to use the pan and brush. He'd played the part of servant long enough to know that.

When Mario decided he was done, he gave him another order.

"Now get my crown and put it on my head."

He ran to the toy box where Daisy was and got a plastic crown. By then she'd gotten hold of Peach's crayons and was busy scribbling on the doll's face.

"Here Mario."

"I'm not Mario! I'm King Mario!"

"Here King Mario."

"Now get a crown for Princess Peach."

"But she has one already!"

"Oh. She does."

"Mario, I don't wanna play this game anymore."

"But Luigi, you have to!"

"No..."

Luigi went to the toy box and rummaged through Peach's things. Eventually he found a car, and played with it in a corner by himself. Mario decided that being king was no fun without Luigi to obey his orders, so he left Peach alone, got a different car and joined Luigi. They had a race to see which was the fastest, and the red capped toddler won.

"My car's better," he boasted.

"Let's play again!"

Meanwhile, Peach toddled over to her cousin.

"Wha awe you doin'?"

Daisy giggled as she continued to draw on the doll. Peach pointed an accusatory finger at her and her eyes welled...

And so a temper tantrum ensued.

"Daithy dwew on my dolly!" she cried. "Toadthwoth! Daithy dwew on my dolly!"

Toadsworth instantly ran in, fretting.

"Princess, what is wrong? There there, don't cry..." He picked her up and gave her a hug.

"D-Daithy dwew on my dolly! L-look!"

"Show me... Princess Daisy! Have I not told you to stop drawing on the Princess's toys?"

Daisy stared at him for a long moment, then started to scream and wail. Mario stared at them wide eyed, Luigi was frightened and Toadsworth became flustered. Instead of calming the Princess down, he'd made both princesses cry! To his horror, King Daffodil came in shortly afterwards.

"Now what's going on here?"

"Ooh, Your Majesty, I-I, she, she, I scolded her for drawing on the Princess's doll, and..."

The King regarded him coldly. "You deal with your Princess, Toadsworth, let me deal with mine."

"Ooh, of course Your Majesty, I apologise..."

But the King wasn't listening as he cuddled his daughter. "Oh my little princess, what's wrong, huh? You can't draw on the dollies, hmm? Aww..."

Both men eventually calmed the girls down and placed them on the floor again.

"Would you like to draw?" suggested Toadsworth. He ushered the toddlers to the mushroom shaped table, but there were only three chairs. Thankfully Daisy wandered off and played with the bricks once more, so there was now enough for everyone. He arranged the paper and picked up the crayons from the ground, not noticing that he'd missed one or two, and the two men left as they quietly started to scribble.

They sat there for a few minutes, and Luigi was the first to get bored. He fidgeted and turned around to see Daisy doodling on the wall.

"Mamma mia!" he said, imitating his father. He got up and approached the redheaded baby, who stared at him. "You're not allowed to draw on the wall!"

He tried to pull the crayon off her, but with no success.

"Mine!" she shouted.

"No!"

"Gimme!"

As she got more and more agitated, the crayon snapped.

"Now look what you did!" cried Luigi.

For a moment it looked as if she was about to cry. Then she smiled mischievously, grabbed another crayon from the floor and continued to draw. There were now green as well as blue scribbles on the playroom wall. Luigi was going to tell Mamma, because drawing on the walls was bad and you got into trouble and you got no snacks, like Mario. But it did look like fun...

He got the broken crayon and started to illustrate his house, at least that was what he wanted it to look like.

Daisy laughed excitedly, delighted that someone was playing with her. "Draw a flower, Weegie!"

"Okay!" Again, it wasn't very accurate, but he was very proud of his picture. Just as they were having so much fun together, Mario looked at the pair and spoke.

"Why are you drawing on the wall?"

Daisy was indifferent, but the boy with the green cap looked down guiltily.

"I'm telling! Mamma! Mamma!"

He ran down the stairs, his calls echoing through the entire castle. Luigi was scared. He was in big trouble now. And when he saw Mamma's cross face with Mario guiding her to the playroom, he knew he was going to be punished.

"Look Mamma, Luigi and Daisy scribbled on the wall, look!"

" _Princess_ Daisy," she corrected before witnessing the sight. "Luigi Mario! What have you done?" she gave out, horrified.

"I didn't mean it Mamma!"

Daisy started to scream. "Daddy! Daddy!"

The King ran in once again, and glared at Mrs Mario. However, even he had to put his foot down on this.

"Daisy? Daisy! What did I tell you, huh?"

She wailed even louder as he put a pacifier in her mouth to keep her quiet.

Mamma spoke sharply to her son. "We're going home now. And don't you ever do that again, do you hear me?"

She grabbed the whimpering Luigi by the sleeve as he gave a final look at the Sarasaland Princess. She stammered as she apologised to Toadsworth, and promised she'd pay for the damage. Then, she was out of the castle.

"Can we go again tomorrow?" asked Mario as she put him in the stroller.

"Maybe some other time," she sighed, not planning on visiting anytime soon after the incident.

* * *

 **I so hope this was written realistically! I PROMISE IT GETS BETTER! Please please review! And yeah, this particular story wasn't very Luigi and Daisy-ish but they do get more romantic as they go on. Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Birthday Girl

**Hey guys and girls! It took me, literally, _days_ to get this how I wanted it! So in this chapter, quite some time has passed, so it'll be like a second first meeting between Luigi and Daisy, but this time they're older and therefore, this is a better chapter. Also, you may find that like the last time, parts of this chapter won't be Luigi X Daisy related. As much as I'd like to get straight into the friendship/romance part of it, I also have to develop their backgrounds. This won't happen as much from the next chapter onwards, so if you don't like this at the moment, chances are you might like it better as the fic goes on. Also, I added Mario x Peach as a pairing but there won't be much on this couple. If you're looking for a fic on this pairing, this may not be the best place...**

 **phantombullets240: Thanks and I'm glad you liked it!**

 **Steel Fairy: You're welcome and I'm happy you took the time to read my story!**

 **Ice Flower 24:** **Thanks! It'll get better, I promise.**

 **Guest: I think you may have left out a word in your review so I'm not too sure whether you like it or not. If you did, thanks! If you didn't, would you mind telling me what you didn't like about it? Thanks for the feedback!**

 **Colorful and Free:** **Yeah, I'm actually trying to get my little cousins into Mario as well! And Wuh-weegee does sound more realistic than Weegee. I'll use that instead in future! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **sullivanav2004:** **Lucky for you, you had to wait less than an hour! I've just finished writing it. Thanks for the review!**

 **Thanks to Destine Star, Ice Flower 24, Zippy 66,sullivanav2004 and Steel Fairy for following my story, Colorful and Free for favouriting and EvilSithlord11 for favouriting and following!**

 **Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Nintendo.**

* * *

The next time they saw Daisy was a little more than a year later, at Peach's fourth birthday. The invite came in the post, asking Mario and Luigi to come, obviously written by Toadsworth.

"Mario, Luigi," said their parents, ripping the pink envelope and reading the card. "Princess Peach is having a birthday party, and you're both invited!"

"Yay!" shouted the boys, jumping up and down excitedly. "Can we go?"

"Of course!"

"Can we buy her a present?"

"Oh no, we already have it bought."

"How did you know it was her birthday, Mamma?"

"Magic," she smiled. She went out of the room and returned with a tea set. "Here it is."

"Oh." The boys weren't interested, since in their opinion, tea parties were for girls!

They wrapped up the present, and after a few hours of the boys playing outside, they were called in for bedtime. However, since they were so excited, they were unable to sleep.

"Luigi, are you awake?" whispered Mario from the top of the bunk bed.

"Yeah."

"Luigi, do you think she'll like our present?"

"Yeah."

"I can't wait for the party, can you? Do you think there'll be cake?"

"And sweets?"

"And chocolate?" Mario's mouth began to water. Even at four years of age, he was a bit of a glutton and slightly tubbier than his brother.

"And..."

"Boys?" called Papa. "Are you asleep?"

They stopped talking and kept quiet for a while after that, but Mario soon became bored again.

"Boo!" he said suddenly, peeping at Luigi with his head upside down.

"Aaaahhhhh!" he screamed. "Mamma! Papa!"

Mamma ran in instantly. "Boys! What's going on here?"

"M-Mario s-scared me," whimpered Luigi.

"I didn't mean it!"

"Mario, stop," she scolded, cuddling Luigi. "It's okay, honey, it's okay. Mario's just playing, okay? He didn't mean to scare you. Now go to sleep, both of you. Sweet dreams!" she said, leaving.

"Sorry I scared you Luigi," whispered Mario, upset.

But Luigi had fallen asleep straight away, and after a while the older twin did the same, dreaming of birthday parties and chocolate cakes.

* * *

It was a pretty hectic day in the Mario household. The boys had woken up their parents at four in the morning and none could get back to sleep, and as a result they were tired all day. However, the twins got a sudden spurt of energy the minute it was time to go.

"Yay!"

"I can't wait for the party Papa!"

"Mamma, can we get some cake?"

"Yes, yes, just get in the car..."

Once they were ready, Mr Mario headed for the birthday girl's castle. As he yawned for the twentieth time that day, Mario suddenly started to sing, followed by Luigi.

"Ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety nine bottles of beer, take one down and pass it around, ninety eight bottles of beer on the wall..."

Yet again, their sons were making that racket. They always sang that song on a car journey, and it was all they could do not to tell them to shut up.

Cars were quite controversial in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mamma and Papa had been brought up in the real world with those vehicles, so they couldn't imagine life without them. However, lots of people thought it disturbed the quiet nature of the kingdom, and so were against the invention.

When they finally reached the castle, they walked towards the back garden, and the place was already half full.

"Now remember boys," Mamma reminded them. "There'll be lots of royals at this party. I want you to call all the kids Prince or Princess, okay? Even Princess Peach. And make sure you wish her a happy birthday, okay?"

"Yes Mamma."

But she'd stopped listening. Both parents turned and smiled as Toadsworth approached them.

"Hello!"

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Mario! Come over here, sit down! How are you?"

"Good, good." Mamma stared at the bouncy castle, a minimised replica of the Mushroom Kingdom Castle, which looked slightly out of place in an otherwise posh tea party. "Did the Princess want that, I suppose?" she said, handing him Peach's present to give to her later.

"Ah yes, you see, she said she wanted one of those like the other children had, so... boys, why don't you run along and see the Princess? She's over there, look? By that table?"

"Okay!"

They ran at top speed, almost knocking over kings and queens of different kingdoms, not noticing their looks of disapproval, their snobbish attitudes towards their regular clothes and scruffy hair.

"Princess Peach! Princess Peach! Happy birthday!" shouted Mario.

"Happy birthday Princess Peach!"

"Thank you!" she smiled sweetly. She was already trained to act like the princess she was and to be mannerly to everyone she met. She didn't whinge as much as the previous year, and was overall a more pleasant, charming child. Her lisp and bobbed hair only added to her cute appearance.

"There you are Peach!" An auburn haired little girl joined the Princess.

"Ooh, ooh, say hi to Daisy!"

Mario had no recollection of meeting the Sarasaland Princess, but vague memories came flooding back to Luigi at the mention of her name. Flashbacks of drawing on a wall... getting shouted at... an orange clothed baby.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"Are you a princess?" Mario asked Daisy. "Mamma said all the kids here are princes and princesses, didn't she Luigi?"

"Yeah."

"Yes, she is," answered Peach.

"Oh. So do I call you Princess Daisy?"

"Am I a princess, Peach?" said Daisy.

"Yes, Toadsworth said you're a princess, like me!"

This was news to the redheaded toddler, whose parents treated her like an ordinary girl. And to look at her, one would think she was, too. With her orange t-shirt and jean shorts, she looked and acted like a normal child.

Of course, the other royals did little to mask their disgust. A princess dressed as a commoner? Impossible! But that was the truth, and Daisy only had to wear a dress on important occasions, and sometimes, not even then. What was the point of wearing magnificent clothing if she was going to dirty them within an hour? That was how her parents saw it. Daisy was turning out to be quite the tomboy, often spending her days playing outdoor games with her father.

She stared at them in confusion, but the topic was quickly forgotten when Mario suggested they jump on the bouncy castle. They bounded towards it, and Mario, Luigi and Daisy jumped up and down happily among the other children.

But no matter how Peach tried, she kept tripping over her beautiful long dress, and couldn't join in on the fun.

"Stop, stop, stop jumping so high!" she whined. Her lip trembled as she started to cry. "Boohoohoo! Stop!"

They all slowed down and looked at her. Mario held out his hand. "Want me to hold on to you, Princess?"

"Yeah... I mean yes."

They boy in red held her gloved hands as they jumped more gently. Peach giggled with joy as she could finally enjoy herself like her friends.

Luigi stopped and stared at Daisy. He knew he should be minding the Princesses, like Mario, because they were littler than them... or so the adults said. There was another reason unknown to them, a reason which wouldn't make sense to a four year old's mind, a reason that involved statuses in society and how the royalty were considered more "special" than the other citizens.

"Want me to hold on to you?" he asked, holding onto the side of the castle so he wouldn't fall, watching as Daisy went higher with each jump.

"No... I can... do it... by... myself..." she panted.

But Luigi, remembering his mother's words that he should play with them, refused to give up.

"Hey... wanna play a game?"

Daisy slowed down a little.

"Let's see who can jump the highest!"

"Umm... okay!"

They laughed as they went up and down, up and down, up and down. Daisy was pretty good, but it was Luigi who seemed to be winning, but she was having such a good time that for once she didn't care that she was losing. Even at such a young age, it was clear to everyone who knew her that she was a bad loser, always throwing tantrums when she was beaten. Luigi was lucky that he hadn't seen that side of her... for now. Because once she got started, it was a tough job to calm her down.

They carried on like that for a while, until it was time to sing happy birthday to Peach. Toadsworth called everyone, and all gathered at the long white table, filled with cakes, puddings, treats of all sorts. At the very centre stood a giant pink and white birthday cake, decorated with sugar flowers and pretty candles. A wooden stool was reserved for the Princess herself, and she smiled at everyone as she sat there.

Mario and Luigi found their parents at the edge of the table, while Daisy joined hers next to Peach. Once everyone calmed down, they began to sing.

"Happy birthday to you,  
Happy birthday to you,  
Happy birthday dear Princess Peach,  
Happy birthday to you!"

Peach then stood confidently and daintily on her stool, and blew out the candles. All of the guests thought what a wonderful, well-behaved child she was, and nobody suspected that the moment had been practised for hours with Toadsworth.

The cake was cut and drinks were poured out, and there were just enough slices for everyone. Again, this had been carefully measured so this would happen. The guests commented on how delicious it was, and resumed their conversations. When Mario and his friends finished what was in front of them, they found each other.

The four children gazed longingly at the other treats, but sadly, they were reserved for the adults. Toadsworth's party wasn't particularly kid-friendly, since he'd used only the best, most expensive cutlery and crockery, and he didn't want the youngsters wrecking them, so he decided that it would be best that they stayed clear of the table as much as possible.

But Mario had an idea.

"Let's ask Mamma and Papa for food," he said. "Come on! Follow me!"

He led the way, and approached his parents.

"Mamma," he said, tugging at her sleeve.

"Mario? Kids? You're not supposed to be here! Go and play in the bouncy castle..."

"Mamma, I'm hungry."

"But you just had cake!"

"But we're all hungry, Mamma, aren't we guys?"

Peach said nothing, but the other two nodded.

Mrs Mario grabbed a few muffins and handed them to the children.

"Here. Now go!"

They thanked her and ran off as they stuffed the muffins into their mouths.

"Let's go back to the bouncy castle!" said Peach.

"No. I'm tired of the castle," said Mario. "I've a better idea. Let's hide under the table instead."

"I don't want to..."

"C'mon, it'll be fun!"

"I don't want to, I'll get into trouble..."

"We can pretend we're in a spooky castle! Please, Princess Peach. Daisy, Luigi, do you wanna hide?"

"I'm scared of spooky castles," whined Luigi.

"Daisy, you'll go won't you?"

"Yeah!"

Peach and Luigi stared as their friends went under the tablecloth. A few guests glanced at them crossly, but left them alone. At that stage, they were under peer pressure. Peach crawled under the table, getting grass stains all over her dress, followed by Luigi. The boy in green wasn't that afraid, actually. It was dark, but not "scary dark", as he called it sometimes.

Daisy was giggling. "It's so spooky!"

"Yeah!"

They laughed some more, then Mario spoke. "Let's pretend we're ghosts!"

He couldn't have suggested anything more unfortunate. Luigi had recently developed a fear of ghosts after watching a ghost cartoon, and sometimes woke up screaming from nightmares.

"No, no! I don't like ghosts!" He started to cry quite loudly, drawing attention from the King of the Waffle Kingdom. He looked under the cloth, and spoke harshly.

"Children, you're not supposed to be here. Go and play somewhere else."

They crawled back out, including the sniffling Luigi, and scampered away from the guests. Princess Peach began to fret.

"He'll tell Toadsworth! I'll get into trouble!"

"Why?" asked Mario.

"I'm a princess. I have to be good!" she answered, repeating the words everyone told her.

The red capped boy shrugged. "What will we do now?"

"How 'bout we play hide and seek?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay! Luigi, you count and we'll hide."

"Okay." He faced a tree. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten! Ready or not, here I come!"

He got past the crowds, and tried to find his friends, but to no avail. He looked at the more obvious places: behind trees, inside the bouncy castle, under the table. But they weren't there. The place was huge, and they could be anywhere. He didn't notice as he wandered further away from the party, going up and then down a large hill in search of the others. He was now behind it, and nobody would ever have been able to see him from the party.

Eventually, just as he was getting tired of the game, he saw some orange behind a bush. He pulled back the branches, and there sat Daisy!

"Found you!"

She scowled. "No fair! You cheated!"

He put his hands on his hips indignantly. "No I didn't!"

"Yeah you did!" she insisted.

"No I didn't..."

"I don't like this game. Let's play something else! How about..."

"But we need to find Mario and Princess Peach!"

"How about roly polies?" She completely ignored what he'd said as she did a lopsided tumble, getting mud on her clothes. She looked at Luigi. "Can _you_ do it?"

He tried, but was nowhere near as good as the three year old.

"Ha ha! I'm better!"

Daisy would have said that regardless of how good he'd been, since she just _had_ to beat him at something, but he was still confused and hurt. Peach wasn't like this...

"You're mean..."

"I'm not mean! You're mean cos you cheated in hide and seek!"

"I didn't!"

"What will we play now?"

"Uhh..."

"Can you do this?" She proceeded to do a sort of cartwheel.

He definitely couldn't, but he still tried so she wouldn't laugh at him again... but he failed. This time he was hurt, as he feel on his knees halfway through.

"Ow, my knees," he cried, tears falling down his cheeks. They were scratched, and were starting to bleed a little.

"It's just a cut!" she said, repeating what her father always told her when she grazed her knees or elbows. Though King Daffodil tended to have a little more tact with his daughter.

"But it hurts!"

"Baby!"

"No I'm not a baby! Leave me alone! I want my Mamma!"

"Let's find your Mamma so! Come on!"

Luigi stood up and followed Daisy as she ran off. Unknown to them, they were getting even more lost. They slowed down, and trekked through the fields together for a while. The redhead eventually broke the silence.

"What's your name?"

"Luigi."

"Mine's Daisy!"

"I know."

She pulled at his sleeve. "Luigi... are we lost?"

Panic struck him for the first time. They were lost. He had no idea where Mario or Princess Peach or Mamma or Papa were.

"Ooh... I think we are..."

"Oh no! We won't see Mommy or Daddy again!"

No Mamma? No Papa? No Mario? Ever again? Luigi burst into tears for the third time that day.

"Waaaaa! I want my Mamma and Papa!"

"Oh no!" But Daisy was nowhere near as upset as her new friend. For her, this was a bit of an adventure. Though a part of her, a tiny part of her, was afraid as Luigi continued to wail.

"I c-can't find them... we're lost... f-forever!"

Daisy pointed at the top of the hill. "Let's go up the hill and see!"

He sniffled as he thought about it. "Okay..."

They climbed up the rather steep hill, and reached the top. The Sarasaland Princess smiled as she saw Peach's castle.

"I told you we'd find it!" she said triumphantly.

"Come on! Let's have a race!" suggested Luigi, determined not to be outdone by a girl smaller than him again.

"Wait for me!"

Despite Luigi's head-start, he tripped over his shoelace and tumbled down, but Daisy was still the slowest... which meant that they both tied in first place.

"I won I won!" bragged the redhead.

"No, I won!" said Luigi, spitting out some grass and getting up.

"No you didn't! You fell!"

"I still won!"

"No!"

"Yeah!"

"No!"

"Yeah!"

They stood there bickering, until Daisy hit him. Luigi was shocked. He'd never been hit before. But instead of retaliating, he reprimanded her.

"Hitting's bad! I'm telling Mamma and Papa!"

Unknown to them, their parents had just caught sight of them, who'd been frantically searching for their children for the past half hour. Peach had grown bored, so instead of staying in her hiding place until Luigi found her, she left and picked some daisies by the castle. When Toadsworth found her there alone, questions were asked, and from then on panic ensued. Mr and Mrs Mario, who were holding his hand at that moment, had found Mario inside the castle (despite it being against the rules). But they'd been unable to find the other two... until now.

"Daisy, Daisy!" called King Daffodil, running to her and taking her in his arms.

"Daddy, Mommy!"

Her mother had tears streaming down her cheeks, while the King swung her around.

Luigi also saw his parents.

"Mamma, Papa!"

They let go of Mario and hugged their sons tightly.

"We were looking all over for you!" scolded Mamma. "Why did you run away, huh?"

"I didn't run away, we were playing..."

"Don't you ever do that again, you hear me?"

"I won't. Mamma, Papa, Princess Daisy hit me! That's bad, isn't it?"

Mamma and Papa shook their heads and sighed as they glanced at the Princess of Sarasaland, who was blissfully unaware of the trouble herself and Luigi had caused. This wasn't the first time her son, who was generally so well-behaved, had gotten into trouble with the little girl. It was almost like they were partners in crime...

* * *

 **I don't know if I made Daisy borderline overbearing/bratty, so hopefully nobody's put off by that. She gets nicer as the fic goes on. And I so hope I did a good job on this, it's only the sencond chapter and I want to make a good impression. But, it does get a lot better as it goes on. Please review!**


	3. A Not So Typical Day

**Hi! All children are four year olds in this fic. This isn't Luigi and Daisy's third meeting, by the way. They've met more times between this chapter and the last.**

 **Steel Fairy: Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Shia labuff: Well... I wasn't planning on saying this so soon, but sometime in the future I _might_ write a Mario X Peach version of this? I'm not sure yet but it's a possibility. There'll still be hints of Peach's upbringing in this fic though. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Ice Flower 24: I'm glad to know that! Not saying I want her to be perfect but I don't want her to be unlikable either. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Guest: Well, I'm happy you liked _Used_! But I must say, you've misinterpreted the situation. I haven't discontinued my Mario X Pauline fic. The only reason I'm updating this fic instead is because I'm having trouble with the next chapter. It's the same with my middle school fic. And although it was a fear initially, _Used_ seems to be getting mostly good reception, so I'm no longer afraid of my readers not liking it. I'm just taking longer than usual to update it, so I wouldn't be too worried about it being discontinued. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **EvilSithLord11:** **Yeah, I always get really excited when my name gets mentioned in other authors' A/N's too! And Daisy will get less bratty as the story goes on, and Luigi will be less wimpy. Also, I was torn between making Luigi hit Daisy back, but I decided against it because like you said it'd be out of character, and I'm glad I made that decision! Thanks a lot for the review!**

 **Colorful and Free:** **I'm glad you noticed the references! I put them in on purpose. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to XxTerminaKonataxX for favouriting and candyopal for following and favouriting!**

 **Disclaimer: All characters and the Legend of Zelda game are owned by Nintendo.**

* * *

It was a typical day at Peach's castle. Mario and Luigi were visiting their pink clothed friend, and they were drawing pictures in her playroom. At least, it would have been, if Princess Daisy hadn't also been there, and based on previous experiences, nothing was ever the same with her around.

That day, Mr and Mrs Mario had left their twin sons in Toadsworth's care. Normally they didn't do that, but they had to visit some relatives in New Donk City, and were excited about it, but they feared it'd be too boring for the kids. Would he mind looking after them on his own just this once? Of course not. They were good children, and most importantly they were great playmates for the Princess.

Daisy, however, was a different story. Coincidentally, the King and Queen of Sarasaland, who couldn't trust her to behave, had also left Toadsworth in charge of their daughter while they visited their royal friends. Already, the young tomboy had broken two plates, a cup and one of Peach's favourite dolls, leading to tears from the blonde princess. So, he promised to take them to the toy shop to buy her a newer, better one.

"Come on children," he said as he peeked through the playroom door. "Put away the crayons. It's time to go."

"Yay!"

"Can we buy something too Toadsworth?"

"I'm afraid not! We are shopping for the Princess."

Toadsworth tended to care more about Peach's well-being than the others', and he didn't even try to hide it. Plus, as always, he was overwhelmed by the redheaded child, who badly needed to be disciplined by her parents in his opinion.

"Now, everyone hold hands! I don't want any of you to get lost."

Daisy put her hands on her hips defiantly. "My Daddy says I don't have to hold anyone's hand!"

The Toad man gasped at such impudence. What on earth were her parents teaching her? She should be respecting her elders! She should be holding an adult's hand when she went out! He'd never heard the like! She was a princess, what if she got lost or worse, kidnapped?

"Oh yes you will!" he said firmly after that moment of disbelief. "Come on, hold hands everyone!"

He grabbed Peach and Daisy's hands.

"Now Princess Peach, you hold Mario's hand and Princess Daisy, you hold Luigi's."

"Okay."

As they walked out the door, Luigi and Daisy started to play a game with each other.

"Luigi, Luigi, let's see how long we can hold our breaths!"

"Okay!"

"One two three go!"

They puffed out their cheeks, and as the seconds ticked by, their faces grew redder and redder. After a third of a minute, Luigi gasped for air.

"I won!" gloated Daisy.

"What on earth are you doing?" asked Toadsworth.

"We were just playing a game..."

"Stop that this instant!" he said annoyed.

Thankfully, as they walked to the shop, there were no major mishaps... yet. He knew it wasn't going to stay this way for long. He could feel it in his bones.

They entered the shop, and Daisy broke free and ran ahead.

"Princess Daisy! Princess Daisy! Come back at once!"

The entire store was staring at the red-faced, panic stricken Toadsworth as he darted around the store, as quickly as he could while he was still holding onto three children. He didn't want to think about what would happen if the Sarasaland King and Queen came back to find her gone...

No, he needed to calm down. He must stop being so fretful. He must realise that she was in the building and they'd find her eventually.

"Princess Daisy? Princess Daisy? Where are you, child?"

He was quite unfit, so he stopped to catch his breath.

"Is she lost, Toadsworth?" asked Luigi, looking up at him with anxious eyes.

Just when he was starting to get genuinely frantic, she came running back.

" _There_ you are! Look what I found!" she said, practically shoving a Baby Daisy plushie in his face. Toys based on real-life royalty were popular in the Mushroom Kingdom. "Can I buy it Toadsworth, can I can I?"

"Nonsense, child. You have lots of those at home already."

She scrunched up her nose. "They're all ripped and dirty."

" _Most likely she played with them in the mud,_ " thought Toadsworth, irritated. " _I suppose I'll buy it for some peace._ "

"Very well, Princess Daisy. I'll buy it for you."

"Thanks Toadsworth!" She gave him a big hug. To say he was softened by the gesture was an overstatement. Hate was too strong a word, but he wasn't fond of her either.

Why couldn't she be more like Princess Peach? She was a model child, with her gentle nature and wonderful manners. Daisy was a bad influence on her peers. Take Luigi for example. Whenever he was left alone with her, he'd get into all sorts of trouble. Yet when she wasn't present, he was as likeable and well-behaved as Peach. Well, almost, because nobody could compare to the princess he loved like a daughter.

"Please Toadsworth, may I have a Baby Peach doll too?" asked the Princess. See? There was no cheek or pushing dolls into his face from her!

"Of course, Princess. Where are they, child?"

"I know where they are!" shouted Daisy.

He could barely disguise his contempt. "Oh... yes. Ahem. Show us where they are, Princess Daisy."

"Okay!" She sped up in front of them and turned a corner. The crowd followed her, and she pointed at the shelves. "Here they are! Look Toadsworth, I found them!"

"Yes Princess Daisy, I see them too, there is no need to shout!"

"Here Peach! Catch!" She threw the plushie at her cousin, who caught it.

"Princess Daisy! Stop throwing the toys! You are setting a bad example to the Princess!" He realised too late the irony of what he'd said. Daisy was the youngest of the four, if only by a few months. "Now, I am going to the counter to pay for these. I want you all to stay beside me, do you hear me?" he continued, still looking directly at the redhead.

"Yes Toadsworth."

The four trailed behind their babysitter, and it seemed as if there'd be no more havoc that day, but of course, Daisy caught sight of the gaming section.

Princess Daisy loved video games.

"Luigi, look!" she hissed, grabbing his arm and pointing. Why she seemed to prefer the boy in green over his more adventurous twin was a mystery to everyone.

Luigi gasped. "Games! Cool..."

"Let's go and see them!"

"B-but Toadsworth will see us!"

She glanced at Toadsworth, who was more concerned about Peach than the other three. "He's not looking. Quick!"

They looked back once more, and ran off.

"Luigi, Princess Daisy? What are you doing?"

They ignored Toadsworth's calls, and they grew fainter as they approached the gaming section. Daisy led him towards a corner, where a Nintendo was on display.

"Cool, they've Legend of Zelda!"

Daisy stood there playing the demo for a few seconds.

"Can I have a go?"

"Sure."

Mario and Luigi had always wanted a Nintendo, but their parents couldn't afford to buy one, let alone two. He stared fascinated at the screen and pressed random buttons.

"That's not how you play Zelda!"

"How do I play it so?"

"Here, let me show you. Oh!"

"There you are," panted Toadsworth crossly. "How dare you run away from me again? And Luigi, I expected better from you! Now I don't want any more trouble from either of you today, do you hear me? I'll tell your parents about this!"

Luigi was really scared, but Daisy's face was expressionless. It didn't matter whether he told them or not, she'd get away with it anyway.

They walked out of the shop in silence after paying for the toys, and Toadsworth's face was red with anger and embarrassment. When they arrived at the castle, he dumped the bag with the dolls on the floor.

"May I play with my dolly now Toadsworth?" lisped Peach.

"Of course, Princess. Run along, now." The four children headed for the playroom. "Oh no you two!" All stopped. "Not you, Mario. Princess, you can go too. I am speaking to you!" He pointed at Luigi and Daisy. "Both of you are going on the step!"

"Th-the step?" stammered Luigi. "But... but..." Only the really kids who'd been bad got that punishment! His bottom lip started to tremble.

"What do you mean?" asked Daisy.

" _Of course she wouldn't know what that means,_ " thought Toadsworth. "See over there?" He pointed at the step. "That's where you're sitting til I tell you that you can go!"

"So we just sit there?"

"Yes Princess Daisy. Now sit!" He guided them towards the stairs and went into the sitting room. Luigi cried as Daisy sat next to him.

"Let's hide!" she said.

"No, I don't want to..."

The redhead was silent for a moment. Then, "Hey, wasn't that so cool when we played Zelda?"

He stopped weeping. "Y-yeah..."

"I have that game at home. Oh, oh, do you know how many games I have?"

"One?"

"No! Guess again."

"Two?"

"No, I've _fifty_!" she announced proudly.

"F-fifty?"

"Yeah. And I've five Nintendos. How many do you have?"

She had... five? "I... I don't have any."

"You don't have any?"

"No."

She stared at him in disbelief. She didn't really understand the way some people had more money than others. "Do you want one?"

"Yeah."

"Ask your daddy!"

"I did."

"Why won't he buy you one? Were you bad?"

"He can't buy me one."

"Why?"

Luigi shrugged. He actually wasn't sure. They'd never given him a reason.

"I can give you mine if you want."

His eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. I can give you my DS cos I don't want it anymore."

Luigi eventually remembered his manners and said thanks.

"Now children," said Toadsworth, returning. "You may go to the playroom now."

"Woohoo!" shouted Daisy, jumping up and running off.

"I'm sorry for being bad today Toadsworth," mumbled Luigi, looking down.

He immediately softened at his apology. Luigi was such a good child when he wasn't involved with Daisy. He didn't like to call her a brat, but... she could do anything and no matter what the punishment, she showed little to no remorse.

"It's okay Luigi. Don't do it again, alright?"

"I won't."

"Now run along! I'm very busy at the moment."

He walked into the playroom, and saw his friends playing snakes and ladders.

"Can I play?"

"Sure," said Mario. Luigi put a green counter on the first space. The game had started already, meaning he would probably lose. Oh well. They played for a few minutes, then Peach reached the hundredth space.

"I won!"

Daisy crossed her arms. "No fair! You cheated!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yeah you did!" She stormed off into a corner and stood there pouting. "I don't wanna play anymore."

"You're just... you're just a bad loser!"

"No I'm not!" she shouted, stamping her foot. "Toadsworth! Toadsworth!"

He appeared at the door within seconds. "What's going on?"

"Peach called me a bad loser!"

"Daisy called me a cheater!"

"Now now, Princess Daisy! You have caused enough trouble today!"

"But she called me a bad loser!"

He hugged the now crying Peach. "Now look what you've done to the Princess! For shame!"

That was it. He was sick of the orange princess! He was never, ever going to babysit her again!

He heard the doorbell ring. " _Thank goodness!_ " he thought gleefully.

"Ah, Your Majesties... M-Mr Mario? Mrs Mario?"

No, wrong people! He wanted the redhead's parents to arrive this minute, take her away and never, ever come back! Still, he feigned joy at seeing them.

"Ah, hello! Have you come to collect Mario and Luigi?"

"Hello Toadsworth! Yes, we have."

"Long day? You look tired..."

"Yes, it was..."

He led them inside into the sitting room, and tried to have a nice chat with them, but heard more tantrums from Daisy.

"I'd better go and see what's going on this time..." he said wearily. Surely the Sarasaland King and Queen were coming back soon, it was late enough as it was... He glanced out of the window to see if there was any sign of them... no... this was too good to be true! Now he didn't have to deal with more trouble, and he wouldn't have to take care of Daisy any longer that day!

He ran to get the door, and greeted them with a cheerful smile.

"Your Majesties! Welcome!"

"Hello Toadsworth. I'm sure you had a lovely time with Daisy, eh? Where is she?"

"Oh, I'll go and get her now. Sit down, sit down!" He pointed towards the sitting room and went to get the three children.

"Mario, Luigi! Princess Daisy! Your parents are here!"

"Aww, I don't wanna go home!"

"Princess Daisy. Come with me, _this instant_!"

"Okay... Bye, Peach."

"Bye Princess!"

All four people entered the sitting room.

"Mamma, Papa!"

"Mommy, Daddy!"

The adults embraced their children tightly, and there was a smile on everybody's face, but Toadsworth was the one who wore the biggest grin.

"Mario, Luigi! We missed you!"

"What did you do today, Daisy?"

Daisy spoke, running her sentences together as she tended to do when she had a lot to say. "I played with Peach and Luigi and Mario and I broke the plates and a cup and Toadsworth shouted at me and I broke Peach's doll and he shouted at me again so we had to buy her a new one at the shop... Toadsworth, where's my doll?"

"Uhhh... here... wait a minute..." He rushed out and came back in with her plushie.

"Look what I got!"

"That's a lovely doll, Daisy! That's you when you were a baby, isn't that cool?"

"Yeah! Uhh, what else did we do? Oh yeah, me and Luigi played Zelda in the toy shop and Toadsworth shouted at us and we wnet home and he shouted at us again and he put us on the step and Luigi cried and I said he could have my Nintendo and is that okay Daddy?"

"Yes of course it is..."

"And then Toadsworth said we could go back to the playroom and we played snakes and ladders and Peach won cos she cheated and I told and Toadsworth shouted at me, and... I think that's all!"

All eyes were on Toadsworth, who was visibly sweating and chuckling nervously.

"Sounds like you did a lot of shouting, Toadsworth," the Queen remarked dryly.

"Hehehe, well you see?"

The King gave him a cold look. "Don't try to explain yourself. I guess I won't be leaving my daughter with you much from now on. She's only a child, you know."

Toadsworth didn't know whether he should count his blessings and be glad he wouldn't have to mind Daisy on his own anymore, or be upset that he'd been treated this way by the King. After all, he'd brought her to the toy shop, and bought her a plushie, little things he didn't have to do.

"Oh Luigi!" remembered Daisy. "You can't have a Nintendo without any games! Wanna come to my castle to see all my games? Daddy, Mommy, can Luigi come to my castle?"

"Whatever you want, Daisy."

"Mamma," said Luigi, "can I go? Please?"

"Yes of course!"

"Can I go too?" asked Mario.

"Yeah!" replied Daisy.

Mamma instantly regretted accepting the offer. Mario misbehaved enough without being influenced by Princess Daisy, and Luigi's mischievous side only came out when he was with her.

What did her younger son see in her? How did such different people find a friend in each other? Well, it looked like they'd be bringing them to Sarasaland Castle either way... She should be happy that Luigi got along with someone other than Mario and Peach.

* * *

 **I tried to show Toadsworth's favouritism towards Peach in this chapter, and his contempt towards Daisy. How well do you think I portrayed him? I hope I did a good job. I also tried to give Daisy a slightly nicer side (she wants to give her console and games to Luigi... but really it's because she doesn't want them). Also, I don't know what the naughty step is called in America, so I just called it the step. Your feedback means a lot to me, so please leave a review if you can!**


	4. Sarasaland Castle

**I'm back with the fourth chapter! Remember when Daisy invited Mario and Luigi to her castle? Well, this is what happens... Also, it's the first chapter without Peach in it.**

 **James Birdsong:** **Thank you!**

 **Da Guest:** **I was having a little trouble with my middle school fic, hence the delay. It's updated now though. And I'll try to sound a little less insecure next time. Thanks for reading!**

 **phantombullets240:** **That's true. Even though I wouldn't have called myself a selfish child, I always felt a bit of regret in giving away the toys I never played with... but then I forgot all about them once they were out of the house! I guess it's just in children's nature to be that way. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **Steel Fairy:** **I like to think that in this specific fanfic, Link and co are fictional and the Mario characters are "real". Though in other fics, Link might be real too, just living in a different universe to Mario. It all depends on what story it is. You can interpret it whatever way you want since it doesn't affect the plot, this is just what's in my own head. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Colorful and Free:** **There's a reason why I made Toadsworth favour Peach over the others: now, it's a while since I saw this so sorry if it's inaccurate or lacking detail, but there's a cutscene in Partners in Time where I think Baby Mario, Luigi and Peach are in trouble but Toadsworth only saves the Princess, leaving the other two to save themselves? I could be wrong though since it's been a couple of years. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **Robot Wolf 26Z:** **Very true! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **Thanks to Robot Wolf 26Z for following and favouriting!**

 **Disclaimer: All characters, and Legend of Zelda, are owned by Nintendo.**

* * *

"Bye Papa!"

"Bye boys, see you in a few hours!"

The twins barely looked back as they ran into Sarasaland Castle with Daisy. Queen Rose shut the door, and the redheaded Princess smiled excitedly.

"So... wanna see my games?"

"Yeah!"

They ran upstairs and into her playroom, with the Princess leading the way. Both brothers gasped in awe as she opened the door. Their own room was nowhere near as messy as this! Toys littered the floor, and the deep orange carpet was completely obscured by her many possessions.

Luigi stepped inside first, but unfortunately for him, he slipped on a ball as he entered, landing on a pile of building blocks.

"Oooooooowwwwww!" he yelled, laid flat on the blocks.

"Luigi! Are you okay?" Daisy asked. Mario held out his hands, and helped Luigi up.

"Oww..." he said, rubbing his back. "It hurts..."

"Will I tell Mommy?"

"Yeah..."

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" shouted the redhead at the top of her voice. They heard footsteps, and within moments the Queen was peeping in the door.

"Yes?"

"Luigi fell on my blocks!"

"Oh, are you okay?" she asked, noticing his tears.

"N-no..."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine in a bit," she reassured him, patting his shoulder. She glanced at the blocks, then looked around the room. "This room does need to be tidied... Why don't you all play outside while I clean this place up?"

"No, I have to show them my games!"

"Oh, okay then. Tell me when you're finished and I'll clean it up then. Have a nice time!"

She walked away, leaving them alone. "So this is my DS," said Daisy, somehow getting around the mess unhurt. "Look! And these are my games. Wanna play?"

"Yeah!"

Mario looked longingly at Luigi as he sat on a pillow next to Daisy. It was all his twin had spoken about lately, and he was so lucky to be getting the Nintendo.

"Mario! Wanna watch us?"

"Yeah!"

The orange princess handed the console to Luigi. She showed him how to turn it on, and when the _Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass_ game came on, she tried to teach him how to play it. He wasn't very quick at learning, however, and by the time he got the hang of it, Daisy was bored.

"Can we do something else now?"

"Okay..." Luigi replied reluctantly.

"But I didn't get a go!" protested Mario.

"... You can take this home with you, and you can take all my games!"

"But..."

"You have more games?" asked the boy in green. It seemed as if neither was interested in what Mario wanted, which was to play the game now, not later.

"Yep."

She opened a drawer, and the twins' eyes widened. There were about fifty different games, and all going to them!

"Here Luigi, here's your DS. Mario? Do you want one too?"

"You have _two_ DS's?"

"Yeah. Here you go! I'll ask Mommy to put them in a bag. Mommy, Mommy!"

After a minute or two, her mother returned. "What is it, sweetheart?"

"Can you put the DS's and the games into a bag?"

"Why?"

"I'm giving them to Mario and Luigi!"

"Daisy... are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yep. Can we go outside now Mommy?"

"Yes, yes..."

"Woohoo!"

They ran downstairs, through the enormous castle and eventually reached the back garden, which was equally huge. Daisy grabbed a football from the middle of the grass and began to do keepie-uppies.

"Look what I can do guys!" she said, her boastful nature evident.

"Cool! Let me try!"

She threw it at Mario, who made a decent attempt, considering it was his first time.

"And look what else Daddy taught me to do!" She placed the ball on her foot and balanced it.

"Can I try now?" asked Luigi.

"Yep!" She unintentionally threw it much too hard towards her friend, and it bounced off his head with a thump. The force made him collapse, and he lay on the ground, unmoving.

"Ah, Luigi, are you okay?" exclaimed Mario in his Italian accent. "Luigi?"

They both walked over to him, and his eyes were closed. By now they were both really scared.

"Luigi?" said Daisy, shaking him. "Luigi, wake up!"

"Is he dead?"

The tomboy went pale. "D-dead?"

Mario's eyes were wide with fear and worry. Daisy nudged him with her foot a couple of times, but gave up when he wouldn't respond. Tears formed in her big blue eyes as she drew breath and started to cry loudly. Mario watched in horror as snot flowed out of her nose, her face turned an unattractive shade of red and her wails echoed through the garden.

Eventually, her father arrived on the scene.

"What's going on here, huh?"

"I d-didn't mean it, D-Daddy! I didn't mean to m-make him d-die!"

"What?"

"Luigi's d-dead, Daddy! He's dead! I hit him with my ball a-and now he's dead! It was an accident!"

King Daffodil, highly doubting his supposed death, decided to take a look at Luigi.

"So you hit him with a ball?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Where did you hit him?"

"O-on the head..."

The King nodded. "Hmm. I believe Luigi has got concussion. We'd better take him to the doctor. He should be fine in a while."

"S-so he's not dead?"

"No Daisy, he's not, okay? Come here..." He hugged his daughter, who soaked his royal robes with her tears.

Meanwhile, Mario kneeled down and whispered, "Wake up, bro. Wake up."

After a few seconds, Luigi's eyes fluttered open. He sat up slowly in a daze, wondering where he was and what had just happened.

"Luigi, you're awake!" said Mario joyfully, smiling at him.

"Luigi!" Daisy jumped out of her father's arms and ran to her friend, giving him a huge hug, almost choking him. "You're not dead!"

"Dead?" he said. "W-what happened?" He winced. "My head..."

"Shhh, you're okay," King Daffodil said. He decided not to tell him about the incident just yet. "We'd better get you inside."

* * *

 **I hope this information is correct... I did do research on concussions and from what I read it seems like this situation is possible, but I could be wrong, I don't know. Let me know what you think in the reviews!**


	5. School

**Hello world! So in this chapter, Luigi and Daisy start school! Also, I've taken the Mario X Peach pairing off the character list, since it's only referenced and I thought it'd be misleading. I'm also introducing Wario and Waluigi, and they'll be sort of relevant in this fic. I know they're not canonically brothers, but I thought I'd make them siblings here. Hope nobody minds.**

 **Steel Fairy:** **I'm glad to know that my description of Luigi's concussion was correct! I was slightly worried about that. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Colorful and Free:** **It's true that the chapter was much shorter than usual, I actually only noticed that after I uploaded it! I hope you enjoy TTYD, it's supposed to be a great game so I'd say you'll love it, despite the fact I've never played it myself. I'm glad you liked the last chapter!**

 **Thanks to Colorful and Free for following, and Diamondstar31 for following and favouriting!**

 **Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Nintendo.**

* * *

"Guess what?" said Mamma and Papa to their sons.

"What?"

"We've something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Well... you know how we've told you that you'll have to start school sometime?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well boys... you're going to go to school next week! What do you think about that?"

"Uhh..."

They looked at the twins, and couldn't believe how much they'd grown. They were six years old now, but the days when they were babies were as clear to them as if they'd taken place the day before. Now they were going to the local school. How time flew...

"That's where we learn how to read and write and count, isn't it?" asked Mario.

"Yep."

"But I already know how to read, _and_ how to count!" Luigi interrupted. It looked as if the younger twin was going to be the brains of the family. Both parents had tried but failed to teach Mario how to read, though to be fair he knew how to count. They hoped the school would help him master the skill. They suspected they were doing something wrong.

"Yes Luigi, but they'll teach you more things, many more things."

"Like what?"

"You'll see. Now, we're going shopping in a moment. So... do you want to come with us, or do you want to stay with Toadsworth and Peach at the castle?"

"The castle!"

Mr and Mrs Mario smiled at each other. The twins loved being at Mushroom Castle. As far as they knew Peach and Daisy were going to the same school, so it was great how they would have their two best friends with them.

* * *

The first day of school came quicker than Mr and Mrs Mario would have liked, for it was a big step for their children and it meant they were growing up. Clusters of moms and dads occupied the front gate of Mushroom Elementary, some weeping, others proud, and for quite a few, a mix of both. Among them also stood Toadsworth, Queen Rose and King Daffodil of Sarasaland.

"Goodbye sweetheart," said the Sarasaland royals, kissing their daughter's cheek. For them, there had been no question about it: Daisy was going to a regular school. Apart from her title, she was just like the others; in fact, they could pick girls from the local playground who were more suited to the role of a princess than the redheaded tomboy! Also, they could easily cross the bridge that joined Sarasaland to the Mushroom Kingdom to take her to the school, where her friends were attending. They convinced themselves that it wasn't that far away. Anything to make their spoilt little girl happy!

"Bye Mommy, bye Daddy!" smiled Daisy. "Luigi, Luigi! Mario!"

Seeing her buddies, she ran off, as her parents watched her give her first step towards independence.

"Daisy!" called Luigi excitedly.

" _Princess_ Daisy!" corrected Mamma.

"Daddy says no one has to call me princess if they don't want to," explained the redhead.

"Oh, okay... Daisy."

"So we can just call you Daisy?" asked Mario.

"Yep."

"What about Princess Peach?"

"No, you still call her Princess, do you hear me boys?" said Papa.

"Yes Papa."

"Good. Well... I guess you'd better go inside now. Have fun on your first day!"

"Okay!"

"Bye bye!"

They were about to enter the building, when they heard loud cries behind them.

"I don't want to go inside!"

"But Princess, you must!"

Toadsworth had had a tough time deciding whether to enroll the Princess at a private school or make her attend the local primary. Of course the obvious option was the former, but would Peach really like to be among snooty six year olds? Maybe they'd be nice after all and he was just going by stereotype, but... Mario and Luigi wouldn't be there. Princess Daisy wouldn't be there.

He had been afraid that it'd look bad if she didn't go to a posh place... What if people started thinking that he was a bad father figure...

But her interests came first. Obviously she'd want to be with her friends. Besides, if Daisy was also going to the public school, then the focus of the gossips wouldn't be so much on Peach, would it?

At this moment in time, with all the adults pretending not to be staring at them, Toadsworth was glad he'd enrolled the blonde here. Think of the disgrace this would have brought upon them in the private school...

"Peach!" Daisy and the boys walked over to the crying Princess.

"Are you okay Princess Peach?" asked Luigi.

"I-I don't want to go to school! I w-want to go h-home!"

"Princess..." Toadsworth hugged her tightly, and her sobs subsided a little.

"Don't cry! Do you want me to hold your hand when we go in?" Mario asked quietly.

After a moment's consideration, she nodded tearfully.

"Now, isn't that nice of Mario?" smiled Toadsworth, relieved. "Say thank you, Princess!"

"Thank you Mario."

"Now come on, go inside now! Goodbye!"

All parents watched as Luigi and Daisy chatted to each other and strolled ahead, and Mario and Peach walked hand in hand towards the gate and the front door. For them, it was a bittersweet moment: they had to admit it was cute to see, but their children really weren't babies anymore. Mrs Mario even dabbed her eyes. However, the moment was broken when she caught sight of the one person she hated the most in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Her sister.

"Marco!" she hissed, nudging her husband. "Look over there!"

"Where?"

"Over there! Look!"

"Uhh... oh no. Oh no. Not her!"

Alas, it was her. Following a heated argument which her sister had started, they hadn't spoken in two years. She saw her blowing her nose loudly and crying emotionally.

"Oh no... does this mean her kids are going here too?"

"Mamma mia... wait, so Wario is ten... no, he won't be in Mario and Luigi's class... what age would Waluigi be now?"

"Let me see, four, five... six! Mamma mia! He's going to be in their class!"

"Is it too late to change schools?"

"It is," sighed Mrs Mario in despair. "They're so happy... we can't take them away from the Princesses..."

"That's true..."

Her tears forgotten, she suggested they rush home before her sister saw them.

Meanwhile, the four children and their peers were being guided by a teacher into their classroom. She looked at Peach, puzzled. She could have sworn she was the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, even her long pink dress was the same... But no. Princesses were either homeschooled or taught at a private school.

All of the pupils chattered to each other, until the bell rang a few minutes later.

"Now class, everyone sit down! Everyone, quiet!"

Everyone chose a seat and sat down. The desks were arranged in rows of four, so Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy made sure they were together.

The young teacher tucked a lock of fair hair behind her ears and started to speak once there was silence.

"W-welcome everyone. I'm Miss Laura Mills, but you can call me Miss Laura! I hope you enjoy your time at Mushroom Elementary School. So now I'm going to tell you all about what we'll be doing here!"

Daisy started to fidget, already bored, but the others listened intently.

"Here we'll be learning English, maths, art, history, geography, science..."

"Miss Laura, Miss Laura!"

"Yes... what's your name?"

"I'm Princess Daisy!"

"Princess... Daisy? Of... Sarasaland?" stammered Laura in awe.

"Yeah! But you can just call me Daisy."

The teacher stared at her, unable to believe her eyes. Her first day ever teaching and there was a princess in her class... But why was she dressed in jeans? And why was she even here in the first place?

It seemed she had forgotten Daisy's question.

"Miss Laura? Is science the one where you do cool stuff like explosions?"

"Oh, um..."

"Can we make explosions too Miss Laura?" Mario piped up.

"Miss, Miss!"

"What do we do in art?"

"Can we do finger painting?"

"Will you be reading us stories Miss Laura?"

"Oh, err, erm..." Miss Laura stuttered nervously. No, she must take control of the situation! She musn't let herself get defeated by a group of kids! And most importantly, she musn't get fired on her first day!

"Silence, class!" she said firmly, and the shouts ceased. She muttered some self-praise under her breath, then continued. "You'll find out more about each subject throughout this semester. Now, why don't we all introduce ourselves? You go first."

"I'm Toad."

"I'm Millie."

"Yoshi!"

"My name's Johnny."

"I'm-a Luigi."

"Hi I'm Daisy!"

"It's-a me, Mario!"

"Hello Miss Laura, I'm Princess Peach."

 _Two_ princesses? "P-Princess Peach?"

"Yes Miss Laura."

"As in _the_ Princess Peach?"

Peach, confused, remained silent, while Miss Laura shook her head in a daze. So she was the Mushroom Kingdom Princess... Wow... She realised she was acting strange, so she coughed in embarrassment and carried on with the rest of the introductions.

Luigi looked around the classroom interestedly. He tried to remember every name, though he was quite a shy child and it was unlikely that he'd try to socialise with them if they didn't speak to him first.

"I'm Waluigi," said an Italian boy at the back of the room. Now where had he heard that name before?

Ah.

When himself, Mario and Mamma had went to the playground, they'd bumped into a fat lady with two sons, who'd all scowled at Luigi and his family. Mamma had told them that the boys, named Wario and Waluigi, were their cousins, but they were really mean and if they death stared the twins they were allowed to do it back. Luigi had been puzzled, but if Mamma said it was okay, then it must be fine to do it!

"Miss Laura!" said Waluigi, pointing at him. "Luigi's staring at me and, and he's making a weird face, look!"

"Luigi, turn around." She then proceeded to take a book from the shelf and sit at her desk.

"Now, every day we're going to have a story time, okay? So today's story's called, _The Orange Toad_. Once upon a time, there was an orange Toad..."

To her relief they listened quietly and didn't ask any difficult questions. She wasn't sure if she should stick with this job. Surely she couldn't teach to the standards of two princesses? Maybe she'd give it a try, and then, if she couldn't cope, she'd look for work elsewhere...

The bell rang, and Laura explained the rules of the bell. In this case it meant break time, but when it rang again they had to return to class. Also, they had to stay in the little kids' yard, for the first and second graders.

Mario stayed with Peach, who was still slightly uneasy. The former suggested that they play catch, and within minutes the blonde was back to her happy self.

Meanwhile, by the wire fence, Luigi and Daisy were playing with the daisies. Luigi was in charge of putting his hand through the wire fence and picking the flowers from the grass on the other side, while Daisy had to use them to make a daisy chain.

"There Luigi."

"Cool! How d'you do that?"

"I'll show you some other time."

"Can you show me now?"

"No, I'm bored with making these..."

Daisy stood up and looked out across the wire fence.

"Look at all the big kids Luigi..."

Luigi looked up. "Yeah."

She stared for a few more seconds in silence. Then, "We're kind of big kids too, aren't we? Daddy says I am."

"Umm... I guess?"

"... Let's go to the big kids' yard Luigi," she whispered.

"But Miss Laura said..."

"Yeah, but... she won't see us! C'mon, let's go!"

"I... I don't wanna go over there. I wanna stay here."

"But... please Luigi, we're best friends!" Daisy pouted, crossing her arms. Luigi had been involved in every one of her mischievous schemes, and he wasn't going to stop now if she could help it.

As Luigi looked at the tomboy, he convinced himself that they mightn't get into trouble after all. She was right; if they were best friends they should stick together no matter what because that was what buddies did, that was what he'd learnt from all the cartoons he watched.

"So? You coming?"

"Uhh... okay."

She grinned at him as she wriggled under the fence, waiting for him to do the same. They ran across the grass that separated the two yards, and stepped onto the hard ground.

They looked around them in awe. The people here were so tall! They glanced at one group playing hopscotch, another group jumping over a rope and another playing a rather rough game of football. Luigi squinted at the biggest of the lot. Like Waluigi he'd only seen him once, but he was very distinctive looking and Luigi recognised him instantly.

"Look Daisy, that's my cousin!" he pointed.

"Where?"

"Over there, see?"

"That guy?"

"Yeah!"

"Wow, he's so fat!" she said loudly.

"Shhh, he'll hear you!"

But it was too late. Wario had seen them, and strode over to where they were. Up close he looked big and scary, and they both stood rooted to the spot, petrified. Even Daisy cowered a little.

"Did you just call me fat?" he spat, putting his face close to theirs. His breath reeked of garlic, but neither dared to complain.

"N-no," trembled Luigi.

"Yeah you did."

He grabbed them by the neck of their jumpers and dangled them up high. Because of the four year age gap there was quite a height difference between them, plus he was very strong.

"Aaaaahhhhh! Put me down, put me down, I'm _scared_!" begged Luigi.

"Aww, baby cousin Weegee's scared?"

"Put us down right now!" shouted Daisy, biting into his thick flesh, but to no avail.

"Maybe you'll think twice before calling me fat again, losers," he chuckled cruelly.

"Put them down," said an angry voice.

All three turned around to see a red haired girl, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, Mona," stammered Wario. He was known to have a bit of a crush on her.

"You heard me. Put 'em down."

Without comment he placed them back on the ground. Mona glanced at the terrified pair, and her expression softened. "D'aww, you're so cute!" she gushed, lowering herself to their eye level. "What are you called?"

"L-Luigi."

"I'm Princess Daisy, but you can call me..."

"Oh, I know you! You're the Princess of Sarasaland, aren't you? Cool."

Daisy was surprised. Normally people made a bigger deal than that when they saw her. She was almost used to it.

"Yeah, but you can just call me Daisy."

"Okay!" Mona glanced at her surroundings. "You'd better go back to your own yard. You'll be in trouble if the teachers see you."

"Okay!"

They ran just when the bell started to ring, both very relieved at having escaped Luigi's scary cousin. It seemed as if they'd had enough commotion for that day, as Daisy got under the fence without any problems.

"C'mon Luigi, hurry up! Everyone's inside!"

"I'm trying!" He pushed himself forward, but suddenly stopped.

"C'mon, c'mon!"

"... I... can't..." he said, struggling. "I'm stuck!"

"Huh?"

"Help me, I can't get out!"

"You have to try, come on, everyone's gone in!"

"But I can't!" he cried, starting to weep.

Daisy stared at him for a bit. "Okay, I'm gonna pull you out!" She grabbed his arms. "Three two one pull!"

"Oww! You're hurting me, stop!"

She sighed loudly in frustration. Neither could figure out how Luigi had gotten stuck, and how to get him out. It seemed as if there was no other choice but to ask for help.

"We gotta get Miss Laura, Luigi."

"But we'll get into trouble! Daisy, no, no!"

But it was too late. Daisy ran inside the building, and tried to find the classroom. After knocking on the wrong door twice, the second teacher offered to show her where Miss Laura's classroom was without any questions. First graders always got lost in the first couple of weeks after a trip to the bathroom or an errand from a teacher, so this was nothing new.

Once she'd found her room, Daisy burst inside without knocking. By the look on Laura's face, it was evident that she hadn't realised there were two students missing.

"Miss Laura, Miss Laura, Luigi's stuck under the fence, come and see!"

"W-what...?"

"He's stuck, look! I'll show you!"

"Sh-show me? Oh yes, of course," she stammered. This class was already proving to be a bit of a handful. Two kids had fallen and grazed their knees, and one girl had come crying for her because someone had called her stinky. Maybe these were normal children's problems? She didn't know, she didn't have any of her own and she'd never worked with any before.

Daisy grabbed her hand and led her to the the fence. There lay poor Luigi, stuck and crying. Laura examined him, and noticed that one of the wires was poking through the fabric of his jumper. She carefully twisted it out and freed the boy.

"All done," she said as he got up. "Now what were you doing under the fence?"

Luigi and Daisy looked down in shame.

"Hmm?"

"We went to the big kids' yard," Daisy mumbled.

"I'm sorry," said Luigi.

Laura kept her cross look. While she thought their guilt was endearing, her job was to teach and discipline her class and she couldn't let them get away with this without a reprimand.

"Don't do that again, okay? Next time there'll be consequences. Now, follow me inside! We'll be doing some drawing once we're in the classroom."

"Umm, Miss Laura?"

"Yes Daisy?"

"What does _coquecences_ mean?"

"Consequences? It means you'll have to stand in the corner next time. And we don't want that, do we?"

Both shook their heads. Neither wanted to experience being punished in front of everyone. Daisy resolved not to get into any more mischief after what Miss Laura had said... at least, not until next time.

* * *

All parents waited outside the school that evening, and smiled as their children ran out to them.

"So, how did your day go?" smiled King Daffodil along with the other adults.

Luigi and Daisy were silent as Mario and Peach recounted the events of their first day.

"What about you Daisy?" asked her mother.

Luigi kept his eyes glued to the ground, but Daisy blurted it out.

"... We didn't get into trouble Mommy! Me and Luigi were good today!"

"Really?"

"Yeah we were, weren't we Luigi?"

"Y-yeah, honest!"

"Can we go home now, I'm hungry..."

None of the parents pressed them for more information, since they weren't sure they even wanted to know what they were so afraid of telling. One thing was for sure: it looked as if Daisy was going to be more troublesome at school than at home, and that was saying something.

* * *

 **Hopefully this was realistic. Also, I hope I explained this properly. This was actually longer, but even though everything stayed I cut down some of the paragraphs because I felt they dragged on (eg the part where Luigi recognises Waluigi was a lengthy flashback, but I rewrote it into three lines). Please review! Oh yeah, and Laura's a character I made up, hopefully nobody minds the inclusion of a (kind of minor) OC! She's only mentioned in two chapters anyway.**


	6. Paint

**Hello world!**

 **Steel Fairy:** **I disliked Waluigi up until a couple of months ago, but now I like him! I only realised then that he's a pretty interesting and funny character. He may come across as a jerk in this fic though. Hope you don't mind and thanks for the review!**

 **Colorful and Free:** **Yeah, in real life, the reason why the princesses go to public school is that I had a lot of Luigi X Daisy ideas, but I wouldn't be able to use them if they didn't go to the same school. Also, I'm glad taking out the flashback was the right thing to do! Really I took it out because for a start it was dragging on the chapter, and this is a Luaisy fic, so I wanted Luigi's relationship with Daisy to be more prominent than his relationship with Waluigi and Wario. Thanks for the review!**

 **XxTerminaKonataxX:** **Glad you like it! And as for how the parents would have reacted... I'll leave it up to you to imagine!**

 **Miscellaneous:** **Thanks!**

 **Click Click:** **You know, I only found out what that was a few hours before when I was at school! I'd have been very confused otherwise. Thanks for reading!**

 **Thanks to DameFlemmarde for following!**

* * *

"So class, today we're going to do some painting," announced Miss Laura.

The children became very excited, and the teacher smiled. Two weeks in, and she knew all of the students' names and personalities. Based on previous experience, drawing kept even her noisiest pupils quiet, like Daisy, so she hoped painting would have the same effect.

She arranged the paint pots, jars of water and paper for everybody, and instructed them to paint whatever they liked. She then sat at her desk, organising her planner as the others chatted and decided what they'd do.

"What are you painting?" Daisy asked Luigi.

"I'm gonna paint my family and friends."

"Yeah. Look Luigi, I'm painting a flower, look!"

Luigi looked at the blob of orange, white and green.

"It's a daisy, look!"

"It's nice."

Luigi turned back to his work, and started with himself. He got some pale pink paint, and began with his face, then moving on to his clothes, hat and facial details.

"Who's that? Is that you?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna paint Mario and Mamma and Papa and..."

"Cool. Are you gonna do me too?"

"Yeah."

They carried on with their pictures in silence. Daisy became bored after a while and dipped her fingertips into the pots, while Luigi concentrated really hard on his. After Mario and his parents he went on to Peach, and finally, Daisy. He started with her hair, but since there was only a tiny bit of the orange colour, since Daisy had used it all on her own picture, he had none left for her t-shirt.

"Aww!"

"What?"

"There's no more orange left!"

"Oh. That's okay! Daddy showed me a magic trick to make orange! Wanna see it?"

"Okay!"

"So you mix the yellow paint with the red paint, like this... see? Look, it's orange now!"

"Cool!" breathed Luigi, fascinated.

"I know, right?"

Luigi happily used the new paint to complete the Sarasaland Princess. Just as he was finished, Waluigi approached his table.

"I wanna see," he said, looking for trouble like his mother had told him to do. Luigi blocked his picture from his cousin's view with his arm, careful not to let his sleeve touch the paper. His own Mamma had warned him not to have anything to do with his cousins.

"Lemme see!"

"No!"

Waluigi then pushed the jar of water, which spilled on Luigi's arm and all over his painting.

"My picture!" cried Luigi.

"Look what you did!" Daisy scolded. "Miss Laura, Waluigi spilled water on Luigi's picture and he did it on... on purpose!"

Laura saw Waluigi look extremely guilty. She sighed wearily. All the kids misbehaved sometimes, but he was the one child who was consistently mean and troublesome.

"Waluigi... Go stand in the corner."

The scrawny six year old shuffled to the corner of the room, turning around occasionally to scowl at Luigi and Daisy.

Miss Laura examined the soggy painting. "I'm sorry Luigi," she said as he looked down, his bottom lip trembling. "But..." She held it up, admiring the way the colours swirled. "Look Luigi, look how pretty it is!"

The boy in green raised his eyes. He supposed it was pretty, but...

"In fact... I think I'll put it in the centre! Well done Luigi!" she smiled, placing it on the wall for everyone to see.

"Whoa!"

"That's so cool!"

"Wow!"

Luigi wiped away with tears with his sleeve. It felt good to be praised.

"it's not fair!" shouted Waluigi, turning around. "I spilled the water so it's my picture!"

"Waluigi!" said Miss Laura in a warning tone.

His scowl deepened as he faced the wall again.

Soon, every single person in the room tipped their water jars onto their paintings. There was a lot of mess to clean up afterwards, but at least the wall looked really cool.

As they were tidying up, Daisy touched Luigi's nose with her finger.

"Huh?"

"Hahaha! Your nose is red! You look like a clown!"

Luigi crossed his eyes and laughed. He put his own finger into the red pot and repeated the action on the redhead.

"Hey!" she giggled.

"Luigi and Daisy! Stop messing with the paint and tidy up!" said Miss Laura.

They stopped what they were doing and continued cleaning up. The bell rang, and the children hurriedly put on their school bags and ran out the door.

Toadsworth, Mr Mario, Mrs Mario and King Daffodil were waiting together outside the gate when they saw their children.

"Hi!" they said. "What did you do at school today?"

"We did painting!" Daisy grinned.

"Oh," smiled Mrs Mario. "Is that why you've got red paint on your noses?"

Luigi and Daisy stared at each other. They then burst into peals of laughter, causing the others to laugh also.

* * *

 **Very short and very simple. Perhaps a bit too simple? Let me know what you think!**


	7. The Wedding? Already?

**Enjoy! By the way this is the last chapter where they're in first grade, the next one takes place in second grade.**

 **Steel** **Fairy:** **I'm really happy you liked the chapter! Thank you!**

 **Colorful and Free:** **Glad you liked it! I enjoyed writing something simple, especially since in a few chapters' time they will be teenagers and things will get a little more complicated. Thanks for reading!**

 **Tsukimine12:** **At least you didn't have to wait that long, lucky you! Glad you liked it!**

 **Thanks to Steel Fairy and Tsukimine12 for favouriting, and NMoshi, Renshiro and fan no.j for favouriting and following!**

* * *

"Guys, guys, look what Mommy found in the attic!" Daisy said excitedly. In her arms was a box filled to the brim with clothes. She dumped the box on the floor of her playroom, where her three friends were waiting.

"What's that?"

"It's for dressing up! Aren't they cool?" she asked as she pulled out the different costumes. "Come and see!"

Peach took out a cheap satin dress from the top of the pile. "Wow, it looks like mine!"

"Yeah!"

"Can I try it on Daisy?"

"Sure!"

Toadsworth finally had the sense to dress Peach more casually when she was just with her peers, though she still had to wear her pink dress on every other occasion. This was a good thing, since it would have been almost impossible to fit anything over her royal attire.

"Whoa, a dragon outfit! Awesome!" Mario exclaimed. He placed it over his head and put on the mask that went with it. "Roooaaarrrr!"

"I don't like it Mario, take it off!" Luigi cowered.

Mario looked down in disappointment, but gave in, not wanting to get into trouble.

"Hmm, what else is there... oh look, a wedding dress!" Daisy said, who, although tomboyish in personality, was developing a liking for pretty things. The dress? In truth, it was her mother's plain white nightdress from when she was a young girl, with a few frills here and there, but the Sarasaland Princess was still enchanted. She put it on over her t-shirt and gave a twirl.

"It's so pretty!" Peach breathed.

"I know, right? Oh, I've an idea, let's pretend I'm getting married!"

"No!" Mario protested. "Let's play dragons instead!"

"We played that already!"

"But we didn't have the costumes!"

Daisy crossed her arms. "I wanna play wedding."

"Dragons."

"Wedding."

"Dragons."

"Wedding!"

"Dragons!"

"Wedding!"

"I've an idea," Luigi said. "Hands up who wants to play dragons!"

Only Mario raised his hand.

"Hands up who wants to play wedding."

The other three put up their arms. The boy in red pouted, knowing he was outnumbered.

"Okay, we won, let's play wedding now!"

"Who are you marrying?" Peach asked.

"I don't wanna play, I don't wanna marry Daisy," Mario sulked.

"Luigi, do _you_ wanna marry me?"

"Okay."

"But he needs a suit!" Peach reminded them.

"Oh. I don't think we have a suit."

"Let's pretend I have one!" said Luigi.

"Okay!"

"And we need a wedding cake too! Ooh, ooh, can I bake it?" the blonde princess asked.

"Yep. Let's go into the kitchen."

All four children, including Mario, walked into Daisy's kitchen. Daisy's mother usually cooked herself (unlike Toadsworth, who hired people to do it), and the absence of cooks was pretty convenient for the children. Peach grabbed a stool from the corner of the room and stood on it so she could reach the counter.

"So first we need milk and butter... I think. And a bowl."

"Okay!" Daisy got a bowl from one of the lower presses, then opened the fridge and took the two ingredients from the middle shelf.

"Are you sure you know how to bake, Princess Peach?" Luigi asked.

"I can! I help the Toads all the time when they bake cakes. And we need sugar too..."

The redhead looked at the shelf on the wall. "Oh. I think it's too high up."

"Maybe I can get it!" offered Mario, suddenly interested. "Here Princess, let me have the stool."

Peach stepped off the stool and Mario stood up on it. He started to give a few little jumps.

"Careful!" warned Peach. But, her friend didn't listen. He managed to get the sugar to fall down from the shelf and onto the counter, but sadly for him, he lost his balance and fell off.

"Ow..."

"You okay Mario?"

"Yeah..." he said, standing up from the floor.

The Mushroom Kingdom Princess poured some milk and sugar into the yellow bowl, and put all of the butter she'd been given along with it.

"I need a spoon please!"

Daisy handed her a metal spoon.

"No, not that one, a wooden spoon!"

"Oh yeah." Daisy took one from the drawer and handed it to her cousin. She tried to stir it, but it was quite difficult for her young hands.

"Ugh... we forgot... the flour..."

"Oh! Can I put it in Peach?" Daisy asked.

"Yes."

She put the flour into the mixture, not knowing that they were supposed to use a sieve, and some of it flew back in her face. The other children giggled at her powdery face and hair.

"You look like a ghost!" said Mario.

"Ugh... don't like ghosts..." Luigi said, all joy gone out of his face. "Wipe it off."

"Aww, but I like being a ghost..." she complained, but grabbed a towel nonetheless. Meanwhile, Peach was struggling even more to mix it all together.

"It's too... hard. I can't... do it!"

"Maybe it needs more milk?"

"Good idea!" Daisy poured in the entire counter, causing the bowl to overflow. Milk now covered the marble counter as well as flour.

"Uh oh, what about the eggs?"

"Oh yeah, I'll get them! Wow, I can't wait to eat the wedding cake Peach! I bet it's gonna be delicious! Can I cut it after the wedding?"

"But Daisy, why can't I cut it? I'm getting married too..." said Luigi.

"Yeah but I'm the youngest."

"But I thought the oldest that gets to go first in everything, that's what Mario said!"

"Well I helped out more so I get to cut the cake!"

"I want to cut it."

"No!"

Just as Luigi and Daisy were about to get into a serious fight, Queen Rose, hearing all of the commotion, happened to walk in. As her eyes widened in shock, taking in the sight of the messy kitchen, all children knew they were in big trouble.

"What are you doing?" she exploded.

All four lowered their eyes guiltily.

"We were baking a wedding cake," Peach murmured.

"Now I'll have to clean this all up... Children, just... go and play outside for a while!"

Without comment, Daisy quickly led the others to her back garden.

"So I guess we're just gonna have to pretend to have a wedding cake..."

"Yeah..."

"But we can still pick flowers, I guess... All weddings have flowers..."

"Yeah. Let's go pick some!"

They approached the King's flower beds, gazing in wonder at the roses, violets, daffodils, and every other flower the children could think of.

"Wow, look at those roses!" said Peach. "We have to use those, they're so pretty!"

"Yeah," Daisy agreed. "Come on, help me pick them!"

All four did their task, and after five minutes, a lot of complaints at being pricked by thorns, and about twenty five roses being picked, they were interrupted once more. Daisy's father's shadow loomed over them, and they knew they weren't going to get away with this.

"What are you doing to my flowers?" King Daffodil roared.

"But Daddy, we need them for..."

"My beautiful roses, all picked... Get out of my sight! Now!"

They all ran, even Daisy. It was never a good idea to stick around when the King was in a bad mood.

"Let's pick the daisies from the grass instead," said Luigi.

Peach shook her head. "We'd better not. Let's go inside and just have the wedding."

The children walked inside, a little disappointed at not having the cake or flowers, but resolving to just pretend everything was there. Daisy grabbed Luigi's hand and smiled at him.

"What?"

"We're getting married Luigi, we gotta hold hands!"

"We... do?"

"Yep."

"Oh... okay."

They then stepped inside the playroom, with Luigi and Daisy still holding hands, and the latter led him to the middle of the room.

"Okay, let's get married now!"

"What do I do?" asked Peach.

"And me!" said Mario.

"Umm... you can just watch. Okay. I love you Luigi and I want to marry you. Now it's your turn."

"What do I say?"

"You say, "I love you too Daisy and I want to marry you." Now say it."

"Okay. Uhh... I love you too Daisy and I, um... what do I say again?"

"And I want to marry you."

"And I want to marry you."

"And now we gotta kiss."

"Yeah... wait, what?"

Before he could protest further she leaned in to peck his cheek, but he turned his head a little, and instead ended up kissing him on the mouth. His eyes widened, clearly not expecting it.

"Eww! That's gross!" Mario exclaimed.

"What's gross?" asked Mamma, Papa and the Queen, peeking in.

"Mamma, Papa!" said the two brothers, running towards their parents.

"What are you playing?" asked Queen Rose.

"We're playing wedding," answered Daisy with a cheeky grin.

"Mamma, Daisy kissed Luigi on the mouth! That's gross, isn't it?" said Mario, looking up at his parents.

"Hehehe! Aren't you a little young for girlfriends, Luigi?" Papa laughed.

"She's not really my girlfriend," he muttered, embarrassed. "It's just pretend."

Mr and Mrs Mario looked at each other smilingly. The idea of a son of theirs marrying a princess was so absurd it was hilarious, but they supposed that children would be children.

"Okay, well now we have to go home. Say bye to Daisy!"

"Bye Daisy!"

"Bye!"

* * *

 **Okay, I expected that to be a little longer, but hopefully it makes up for it in content. I know this chapter in particular was heavy on dialogue, and I don't know if that's a good thing or not... Anyway, please review and let me know what you thought!**


	8. She's Not My Girlfriend!

**Hi everyone! First off, Happy Easter! Secondly, gosh, it's almost two months since I last updated this! I had writer's block, you see, and because of that... well, you know how I said this chapter would take place when Luigi and Daisy were in second grade? I'm moving on to third grade. For weeks I haven't been happy with the second grade chapter, and since I had no idea how to rewrite it for the better, I decided to just skip it. It wasn't laziness, I was just losing interest in the entire fic because of that one chapter. Hope nobody minds the time gap! (both from the last update to this one, and in the fic itself!)**

 **Tsukimine12: Well it is a romance fic, so I don't think I'll be spoiling much when I say there'll be more kisses! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Colorful and Free: Yeah... I might actually reference what you said in a future wedding chapter, where they could maybe make a joke about that (doubt I'm spoiling much there since the summary of this story says that they'll become a couple). Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **Steel Fairy: True! Thanks for reading!**

 **Thanks to CapitalClassShip for favouriting and following, and Hip Neptune for following!**

* * *

It was Valentine's Day at Mushroom Elementary. Some giggled about it, others were indifferent. But for Luigi, it was a day he wouldn't forget any time soon... for all the wrong reasons.

That day, as part of their school routine, all students sat down at their wooden desks, ready to do the work the teacher would assign to them.

"Good morning, class," their third grade teacher greeted them. "Right now, we'll be doing art instead of history."

There were cheers from everyone, as most of the students weren't fond of history.

"For this class, I'm sure you'll all be happy to hear, we'll be drawing Valentine's Day cards."

Some sniggered, others groaned, and a few wondered who they'd give theirs to.

"Who are you giving yours to?" Luigi asked his brother.

"I'm giving mine to Princess Peach," he smiled, "and she's giving me one too, cos she's my girlfriend."

Recently, Mario and Peach went around saying that they were going out (but mostly the former, since the latter was shyer about the situation). They didn't seem to care that they got teased for it.

Luigi decided to make his for his parents, since he didn't have a special someone like Mario. He turned his head to see what Daisy was doing.

"Who's yours for, Daisy?" he asked.

"It's a surprise," she said mysteriously, covering her card.

Just before recess, it was time to tidy up. Daisy continued to keep her card well hidden til the bell rang. Then, they rushed to the yard, and Luigi and Daisy saw Mario and Peach giving each other their cards. The redhead then turned to her friend.

"Here," she said, handing him an envelope.

"Huh?"

"Open it."

He tore it open, and in it was a little red card, decorated with multicoloured pompoms and glitter pen. Luigi read the message, which said:

 _Luigi, you're my best friend._

 _Daisy_

"Oh..." He was at a loss for words. Nobody had ever given him a Valentine's card before, not even a friendly one, or as a joke. "Th-thanks..."

"You're welcome! Do you like it?"

"Y-yeah, of course!"

He smiled at Daisy, and she grinned back. It was quite a sweet moment, but unfortunately for them, Waluigi had seen the whole thing, and ruined it.

"Hehehe! Luigi has a girlfriend!" He laughed loudly, pointing at them. As Luigi turned to his cousin in horror, the whole yard approached the three children and began to chant.

"Luigi has a girlfriend, Luigi has a girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" he shouted with clenched fists, blushing furiously, much to Daisy's shock. She'd never seen him so angry before, not even the time she'd broken his model airplane. Besides, what was he getting so riled up for? It wasn't like it was true...

"Why did she give you a card, so?"

"Why's your face all red?"

"Shut up! She's _not_ my girlfriend!"

"I'm gonna tell everyone you have a girlfriend," Waluigi taunted, sticking his tongue out. "I'm gonna tell Wario and Mamma and Papa and your Mamma and your Papa and-"

"Well I'll tell everyone that... that... that you suck."

"Hehehe! Luigi has a girlfriend, Luigi has a..."

Before he had a chance to tease Luigi further, the bell rang. Luigi's shoulders were slumped as he entered the classroom. Valentine's Day? More like Humiliation Day... He hoped everyone would forget about it by next recess. He stuffed the card into one of the pockets, careful to see that nobody was watching, and started doing the math problems on the board, purposefully not speaking to Daisy.

He had a few hours' peace, and perked up a little in that time. He went outside once the bell rang once more, still avoiding Daisy as much as possible, and tried to join Mario and Peach in their game of tag.

However, his unfortunate situation only worsened.

"Luigi?"

Feeling a tap on the shoulder, he whirled around to see Daisy. No, not now, not her...

"What?" he snapped.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"You're not gonna let them get to you, are you? I mean, it's not true, so it doesn't matter if they think I'm your girlfriend anyway."

"Daisy, just... just leave me alone today, okay?"

"We're still besties though, right?"

"No! Now leave me alone!"

The redhead looked as if she'd been slapped, and for a moment, Luigi felt terrible.

"Eh, look, I-I didn't mean it, okay, it's just Waluigi, he, he'll... Hey, I'm sorry, okay? Daisy?"

He started to put his arm around her, noticing too late that a circle of children had gathered around him, with Waluigi as their leader. His arm froze mid air, and again his cheeks reddened with mortification.

"Come on! Kiss her!" his cousin smirked.

"Kiss her, kiss her, kiss her, kiss her!" the others chanted, til Luigi could tolerate it no more. He pushed past them all, trying but failing to ignore their mocking sing-song voices, and ran into the boys' bathroom. There he locked himself into a cubicle and cried his eyes out, the humiliation of the day taking its toll on him. Why did Daisy have to give him a card in front of everyone? Why did Waluigi have to do this to him?

After a minute or two he heard a knock on the door of the cubicle.

"Luigi? I know you're in there."

He recognised the voice as his brother's, but he wouldn't come out, he wouldn't, he wouldn't!

"Come out, Luigi."

"No!"

"You can come out, Waluigi's gone. Daisy punched him and Waluigi kicked her and now they have to stay inside for the rest of recess."

"I don't care! I'm never coming out!"

"You have to, the teacher will come looking for you after recess if you don't."

Luigi reluctantly unlocked the door and opened it a tiny fraction, peeping to see if Mario was laughing at him, like the others. He wasn't.

"Is... is everyone still laughing at me?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Luigi came out, wiping his eyes with his sleeve, and exited the bathroom with Mario.

"It doesn't really matter if they laugh at you anyway," the older twin said. "Just tell them it's not true. Hey, I have a girlfriend and I'm not crying!" he added proudly.

"I guess..."

"Anyway, Daisy's kind of mad, so you'd better talk to her when we go inside."

"Yeah."

The bell sounded just at that moment, and when Luigi seated himself, he saw the Sarasaland Princess, sitting moodily with her arms crossed. He knew what he had to do next.

"Daisy?"

She didn't answer, but gave him a quick death stare and looked down.

"Uhh, Daisy, I... I'm sorry I was mean to you, um... are we still friends?"

Her expression softened a little, but her eyes remained glued to her desk. Luigi now deeply regretted freaking out earlier. When she still refused to look at him, he decided to give up. Tears welled up in his eyes as he took down the sentences from the black board. Daisy was his best friend after Mario, he even got on with her better than Peach, even though he knew the blonde for longer and they were relatively closer in personality. Now she wouldn't talk to him anymore, and it was all his fault.

As he wiped the tears of his sleeve, he felt two arms wrapped around him tightly. He stared at Daisy in shock. Had she... forgiven him?

"Of course we're still friends!" she said brightly.

"Uhh... really?"

"Yeah."

"So we're still best friends?"

"Yep."

Daisy let go of him before the teacher turned around, and saw his tear stained face.

"Are you crying?" she whispered.

"N-no!"

She shrugged. "Waluigi got into trouble too. I punched him and punched him and I _hate_ him."

"Y-you do? Oh, I do too!"

"Yeah, he's so stupid and mean!"

"Yeah, remember when he pushed me yesterday-"

"Luigi and Princess Daisy! Stop talking and do your work!" the teacher scolded them.

Some of the class laughed and made kissy noises, but this time, Luigi didn't care. The pair hurriedly returned to their work, but not before giving each other a small smile.

* * *

 **Well, that's that chapter finished! This is probably going to be the last "light-hearted" chapter for a long time, in the next two they're still children but they'll be sad chapters (maybe that's an understatement), and then they'll be middle schoolers, which is when their relationship will become a little more complicated.  
Anyway, if you're interested, this is how the second grade chapter was going to go (be prepared for extreme unrealism here!): Mario and Luigi really wanted a pet dog and they got so upset when their parents said no, that they moped around and distanced themselves from their friends. One day, the Sarasaland King and Queen were in charge of minding Luigi (his dad had to work late and his mom was taking care of Mario who was quite sick). On their way to the castle, Luigi and Daisy (coincidence of the century) spotted a puppy in a bush, thin and abandoned. They gave it to the King, who takes care of him at the castle, and decides to take him to an animal shelter. Daisy was very upset because she wanted to keep the puppy. The next day, after a few hours, the King returned home with the puppy in his arms (there was no room at the animal shelter). Daisy played with him, but the puppy had trust issues and didn't want to play. Then Mario, Luigi and Peach came for a visit. The twins played with the puppy, and he responded happily. After some thinking, Daisy decided to give the puppy to the twins.  
Now are you glad I didn't include this incredibly unrealistic chapter?:-)**


	9. A Good Day?

**Hi! This chapter is a lot less lighthearted than the last one. You have been warned...**

 **Steel Fairy: Yeah, kids can be really mean sometimes. Also I'm glad you didn't mind the long wait! Thanks for the review.**

 **aiai3668: You've actually kind of guessed what happens in a couple of future chapters! Minor spoiler for this chapter, but Waluigi will be gone for a while. Hope you don't mind and I'm glad you liked the chapter!**

 **Infinite's Ruby:** **Yeah, something like that happened to me when I was six or seven too (they weren't _very_ mean, not as mean as the kids in this story were to Luigi and Daisy anyway, but it was still annoying to have people think my friend was my "boyfriend"). Thanks for reviewing!**

 **ultimateCCC:** **You know, that'd actually make a pretty cute fanfic! Thanks for the review!**

 **Colorful and Free:** **I'm happy you liked the chapter! And this is going to sound weird, but I'm glad you didn't like the second grade idea: it means I did the right thing in leaving it out. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Tsukimine12:** **Glad you liked it:-)**

 **Cicada** **3301: Gosh, I also can't wait til they get older! I still like writing about them as kids because the plot is more simple, but I actually prefer to write the characters as teens/adults, I feel I can write with more depth. I'm happy you liked it and thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

The nine year old Luigi whistled as he walked to school with his brother, both on their own. His parents had finally agreed to let them go to school without them, not to mention that the rumours that had been circulating recently were confirmed: Wario and Waluigi were changing schools. What could be better? Peach already knew since they'd gone to her castle the day before, and he couldn't wait to tell Daisy too.

As they entered through the school gate, Luigi noticed Peach daydreaming in a corner, and frowned. Where was Daisy? She was always early. She claimed to dislike school, but she was always in before everyone else: that way, she could have fun with her friends before classes started. Perhaps she was sick? That also seemed unlikely. There had been days where Daisy was vomiting, and she'd still turned up: when asked why, she'd replied that she was no wuss, that it would take more than a little bug to keep her at home.

"Hi Princess Peach," the brothers said in unison.

"Hello Mario! Hello Luigi!"

"Where's Daisy?" Luigi blurted out.

The blonde frowned. "I don't know. I suppose she's sick."

Mario shrugged, but Luigi couldn't help feeling concerned. Something must be really wrong if Daisy was absent, Daisy who'd never missed a day. It was enough to cloud over his so-called perfect day. His worries only built up as the day went on. It was strange not having the redhead at his side as he completed his sums and grammar exercises. When it was three o'clock and time to go home, Luigi had all sorts of hypothetical situations imagined in his head. Maybe she'd moved schools like his cousins, and never told him. Maybe they were moving to a different country. Maybe Daisy was extremely sick and staying in bed wouldn't be enough to make her better. Maybe Daisy had _died_.

"Mario?" he said as they exited the school gate.

"Yeah?"

"Do you... do you think I should go to Daisy's castle and see what's wrong? I'm really worried, and... I just want to make sure she's okay."

"Mamma mia, are you insane? It's a long walk from here to the castle. She's probably just sick anyway."

"But..." Luigi was not satisfied. He had to make sure his best friend was fine. At this rate, he would end up having nightmares if he didn't find out why she wasn't in that day. But he also had to think of his parents. He shouldn't be risking their trust by not heading straight home. In the end, his concern for Daisy overshadowed his fear of getting into trouble.

"Mario... Tell Mamma and Papa I'm at Daisy's castle. You go home by yourself."

"I can't. I'm gonna get into so much trouble for going home on my own. Remember what they said Luigi, they're seeing this week if we're responsible. This is a test. You have to come with me Luigi. Besides, she's fine!"

Luigi shook his head. "No. She's not. I know it."

Mario gave him an incredulous look. Then, "Bye, bro. I'll tell Mamma and Papa what you said."

As he watched his brother disappear into the distance, Luigi was no longer sure if he wanted to do this. Maybe she _was_ just sick, not to mention that the walk from school to Sarasaland Castle would be a walking distance of half an hour. What if he got lost...?

No. He had to be brave. He was talking about his best friend here!

He began to run to the castle, the speed making the journey shorter. Thankfully he knew the way there, since he'd gone there so many times in the past. He stopped for nothing (well, maybe once or twice to catch his breath), ignoring the stares of passers-by. Eventually, after twenty minutes of running, he was at the castle, panting, sweating, his face red from exhaustion. He knocked lightly on the door three times, and waited for the King or Queen or Daisy herself. He got a few suspicious looks from the guards, wondering what was going on with the boy they saw so regularly.

The King opened up, with red-rimmed eyes. "Huh... Oh Luigi. It's you."

"I... came... to see... Daisy... is she... okay?" he asked.

"She's... eh, just... come in."

A puzzled Luigi followed the King inside into the sitting room. The King sat down, and looked Luigi in the eye.

"Luigi, I don't know if I should tell... Eh. It's going to be on the news soon anyway. My wife, she... she died suddenly," he said, deciding to spare some of the scientific details, struggling to keep his voice under control. "Daisy is very upset. She's in her room. Do _not_ do anything to upset her any more than she is already, or mark my words, I will kick you out of here and you will never return. Understand?"

The Queen of Sarasaland, dead? No, surely not? Why, he'd seen her a few days ago, planting roses in the castle gardens. She'd shown no signs of being ill then.

 _My wife, she... she died suddenly._

Oh.

He took one last look at the King's haggard appearance, and went out to climb the spiral staircase. Gingerly he knocked on Daisy's door, unsure of what to expect. He was still in shock at the news - he didn't feel even feel upset yet.

Nothing. Nothing at all.

He knocked again, and this time he heard a noise, a sob. His heart broke for his friend. She must be suffering so much... How terrible to have your own mother die. He couldn't imagine what it would be like for Mamma to suddenly disappear.

"Daisy?" he called softly.

"Go away!"

"Daisy. It's me, Luigi."

"Go away!"

His breathing rate increased as he began to panic. If the King heard this, he'd be banned from seeing Daisy.

"Daisy, please," he pleaded quietly.

"No!"

"If you want me to go, just tell me."

A few footsteps, then a tearful Daisy opened her bedroom door. Luigi gasped; he'd never seen her looking like this. Her face was blotchy from crying, and mucus flowed from her nose. Her eyes were bright with tears, and her hair was mussed.

"What do you want?" she sniffed.

"Uhh..."

"I told you, leave me alone!"

"I just... I just wanted to see what was wrong... You were gone for ages, and I, I... I missed you, I guess, and yeah... Your dad told me about... um..."

The Princess's face crumpled up again, but this time she didn't shout at him. Luigi gave her a tight hug, and after a moment's hesitation, she hugged him back.

"Mommy's dead, Luigi! She's dead, she's dead, she's dead! She's dead..."

She disentangled herself from his embrace, threw herself on her king size bed and wept. Luigi, unsure once more of what would be the appropriate thing to do, seated himself on the bed.

"It's not fair!" she wailed. "I want Mommy back! It's not fair! It's not, it's not, it's not!"

Tears welled up in Luigi's eyes as he could almost feel Daisy's pain. He would do anything to make her happy again, but he was only a child, and only adults were good at that sort of thing. Just then, he heard the doorbell ring, and heard his mother yelling something. The King answered her with a barely audible mutter, and called his name. Luigi glanced once more at Daisy, lying in a crumpled position and shaking, then made his way downstairs.

"Luigi... there you are..." his mother said, pale as a ghost. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Your Majesty. I didn't know... and here I was, just shouting at you, I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."

"It... it's fine. I just want some time alone, Mrs Mario."

"Of course, but do you need any help, I mean-"

The King scowled. Mamma gave him a doubtful look, but refrained from saying anything else. If he wanted her gone, she'd have to respect that, even if her first instinct was to try and help him.

"Well... goodbye, Your Majesty. I'll take Luigi; thank you for taking care of him."

Daffodil turned away, waiting for them to go.

"Mamma, I'm sorry I left Mario go home alone," Luigi said as they left. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was going to-"

"Luigi... it's okay. It's already forgotten. Now, I want you and Mario to be especially nice to Daisy, okay?"

Of course he'd be nice to Daisy. She needed it now, more than ever. How, he didn't know. But he'd try. He'd try his absolute hardest.

* * *

 **Now you know what I mean when I said it wasn't lighthearted... I really hope I wasn't insensitive when writing this. I thought that Luigi might not be as upset as Daisy about the Queen's death, because she wasn't his mother; instead, I focused more on how he felt about Daisy being upset. I hope I made everyone react as they should - if I didn't, I'm very sorry. Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	10. Let It Out

**Hi! Enjoy the latest chapter!**

 **ultimateCCC: Very true, especially when the family member in question is a parent, or someone very close. Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **Steel Fairy: Thanks for the review!**

 **aiai3668: I'm glad you like how I portrayed Luigi! I was a little worried, especially since that chapter was very different in terms of content, ie less lighthearted. And about spoiling future chapters, I don't really mind since I didn't give away that much of the plot! Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Colorful and Free: I'm glad you thought everyone reacted well! Thanks for reading!**

 **Thanks to AlexMakoto for following, and TheGameNguyener and HiyaItsHails for following and favouriting!**

* * *

It was eighteen months since her mother's death. Eighteen months, and six days. Not that she'd been counting.

Okay, maybe she had.

Daisy still missed her mother. She'd be lying if she said otherwise. She'd matured considerably after all that time. And she'd begun to realise things that she hadn't even thought about before. Things that were the main source of her guilt.

Daddy, or Dad, as she called him now, had always been her favourite parent. She should have appreciated her mother more. She shouldn't have been so cheeky and difficult. She should have good, a model daughter.

But she hadn't. And now it was too late. Now, she'd have to face the consequence - guilt. She normally kept those feelings well hidden. Daisy, the ten year old, tomboy princess, bawling her eyes out where the whole schoolyard could see her? Unheard of.

She glanced at Luigi, sitting on the ground next to her, silent, staring vacantly at nothing in particular. Luigi, her best friend. Luigi, always ready to listen. Luigi, who'd been there for her through thick and thin.

Suddenly, she wanted to talk. Let it all out. Get it off her chest.

"Daisy?" Luigi asked Daisy, sensing her eyes on him. "Everything okay?"

The redhead turned away. No. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to talk to him about Mommy. It wasn't the time. Daddy never wanted to talk about the Queen, on the rare times she tried. Maybe Luigi wouldn't want to either.

"Luigi, I... I want to talk about Mommy."

The words were out before she could stop them. She wasn't ready. Now was a bad time. She wasn't ready.

 _She was._

He nodded slowly, prompting her to continue.

"I don't know, Luigi. I..." She swallowed hard. "I feel bad, Luigi. I feel bad. Daddy was my favourite. I should have been a better daughter when she was alive. I should have-" She choked, starting to sob. She placed a hand over her mouth, trying to contain it, but instead, more sobs made their way out of her mouth, accompanied by a tear or two streaming down her cheeks. A year and a half of pretending she was okay, making out she was fine, all being released in the worst, most public way possible.

She felt a tentative arm around her shaking shoulders, and looked at Luigi.

"It's not your fault she died, okay? Don't cry..."

"I know, but..."

Luigi remained quiet as she could no longer speak, her face drenched with tears. His arm tightened around her, and he looked at his friend. He hated to see her suffer like this, and wished he could do something about it. Maybe he couldn't. Maybe he could only lessen her pain, not make it disappear. But he'd try. He'd try to always be there for her, no matter what.

He'd try.

* * *

 **That was super short, sorry about that. Please review!**


	11. Truth or Dare

**Hi everyone! By the way, the Mario bros no longer call Peach "Princess", they call her by her name. I couldn't find a place to put that detail in, so I thought I'd say it now to avoid confusion.**

 **Tsukimine12: True! It's good to have a friend you supports you, especially after a close relative's death. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **ultimateCCC: That's very true, it's important to live life as much as you can. Thanks for reading!**

 **Colorful and** **Free:** **Glad you liked it! I was a bit worried that it was too short.**

 **Steel** **Fairy:** **You're right, talking it out is the best thing to do. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Guest:** **I see what you mean. My perception is that they sometimes get annoyed with each other (they're human, after all... except for Toadsworth), but they're generally on good terms. Thanks for reading!**

 **aiai3668: Glad you liked it and thank you for the review!**

 **Infinite's** **Ruby:** **Yeah, since Daisy couldn't really talk about it to her father, she really did need Luigi at that moment. Thanks for the review!**

 **Elementalmarios:** **Luaisy's my OTP too! I ship them so hard. I'm so happy you liked it!**

 **Thanks to Elementalmarios and Kitkatkatester for following and favouriting, and Pixelstars3 for following!**

* * *

" _There_ you are!"

Daisy slapped both Mario brothers on the back as she sat next to them in the canteen. Their first week in middle school had went reasonably well: they'd gotten lost once or twice, but there had been no major mishaps for the three pre-teens. Emphasis on the number three, for Toadsworth, increasingly concerned for Peach's well-being as the years went on, had decided to hire a tutor to home-school her rather than let her attend a public school... much to Mario's dismay, who was developing quite a crush on the blonde princess.

The older twin wasn't the only Mario brother with love related problems, however. As Daisy dumped her tray on the table, Luigi found himself staring at her as she dug her fork into her soggy, unappetising roast potato and ate it, pulling a face. Even with her face twisted, Daisy was pretty. Yes, pretty. He didn't know why he hadn't noticed that before: maybe it was something that had happened so gradually that he only saw it now, or could he be developing a crush, perhaps? No. His mind was likely just addled from starting a brand new school. But there was no denying that Princess Daisy was nice-looking - not in an obvious way like Peach, with her perfect features and graceful ways. Perhaps cute would be a better word to describe her-

"Why are you staring at me?" she mumbled through her food, turning her head. "Do I have something on my face?"

It took Luigi a second to realise that he'd been gawping at her, for longer than what was socially acceptable. "I-I... no, I..." he stammered, feeling his cheeks turn red. He hated how he got embarrassed so easily. While Mario's confidence seemed to grow, his shyness only worsened with age.

Daisy returned to eating her meal, while Luigi lowered his eyes, failing to detect Mario's knowing smirk.

* * *

"You like Daisy, don't you?"

The question took Luigi by surprise. He had been busy doing his homework, a set of math problems, and felt a little alarmed at Mario's comment. Truth was, he'd been thinking about Daisy while he was solving them - not romantically though, of course not. Okay, maybe he was, but since when had his twin become a mind reader?

"It's more obvious than you think," Mario smirked, causing Luigi to blush for the second time that day.

"But I don't even like her!"

"It's okay, Luigi. It's okay to like someone."

"Shut up."

"No need to get so defensive either. It's true. You're always going red around her, and _staring_ at her, and-"

"Is it that obvious?" Luigi replied, panicking slightly.

Mario chuckled. "Maybe not to her, but it is to me."

"Yeah, just like it's obvious you like Peach. Right, Mario?" Luigi raised an eyebrow as Mario suddenly avoided his scrutiny.

"Yeah, but-"

"Thought so."

"Okay, maybe I like Peach," Mario admitted, still staring at his hands, "but Luigi, if you would just listen to me... I can help you on this one."

"Yeah, 'cause you've so much experience!"

"More than you do, anyway. Remember when Peach and I gave each other Valentine's cards in third grade?"

Luigi sighed. "Look Mario, it's fine. She's my friend. She'll never like me. You don't have to do anything about it."

"Why not? It's worth a try."

"No it's not."

"It is. I promise. Look Luigi, I have a plan and you have to trust me on this one. Okay? Promise you'll trust me."

"I've a bad feeling about this..."

"Why? Luigi." Mario looked straight into Luigi's eyes. "It'll work. Somewhat, anyway. I promise. So. Deal?"

Luigi slumped his shoulders, defeated, and held out a reluctant hand.

"Deal."

As soon as they had shaken hands, he regretted it. He had a really, really bad feeling about this...

* * *

Lunch break wasn't much different the day after that. Jokes were exchanged between them, and Daisy had once again caught Luigi staring at her, leading to yet another awkward moment.

Once they had finished their meals at the canteen, they decided to take a walk around the school. After some idle talk, with Luigi remaining silent most of the time, Mario suggested that they play a game of Truth or Dare.

"Sure!" Daisy said, but Luigi was suspicious. Truth or Dare never ended well when Mario was involved. It didn't help that his brother's lively blue eyes possessed a mischievous glint, a sure sign he was about to do something he shouldn't be doing.

"Who wants to go first?" Mario asked.

"I'll go first." Daisy smiled at Luigi. "Luigi, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Okay... is it true that you broke that plate at Peach's place last year?"

"Yes. Yes it is."

"Hey, I got the blame for that!" Mario said, outraged. "And that was kind of a lame question."

"Just thought I'd go easy for the first one," Daisy said.

"Hmm. Anyway, I'm daring Daisy now."

Luigi narrowed his eyes suspiciously, not caring for the overly excited look on Mario's face.

"Daisy..." Mario leaned against the cool stone wall of the school building, speaking to Daisy but watching his brother. "I dare you to kiss the guy you like the most."

Luigi could only gawp at Mario, while Daisy laughed uneasily.

"Can it be on the cheek?" she asked.

Mario shrugged, a smirk forming on his round face. "It's up to you. I didn't say how you had to kiss him."

"Okay. Hmm..."

As Daisy pretended to think about it, Luigi felt a stab of jealousy. Of course Daisy was going to pick someone handsome, like that Mark guy with the tan and dark eyes, or that blonde boy - was it Jamie? - the one all the girls swooned about.

So when Daisy planted a small kiss on his cheek, he was stunned. He was well aware that he was blushing, but was too shocked to try and hide it as he stared at her.

"That's for being my best friend," she explained to Luigi, as he tried not to flinch at her words. "Sorry Mario."

"Oh no, it's fine," Mario said, his smirk widening. After getting over the shock, Luigi looked at his brother, wondering if Mario knew Daisy might kiss _him_ of all people. Then it hit him. _Look Luigi, I have a plan and you have to trust me on this one._ Wasn't that what Mario had said? So this was the deal he was talking about? If so, he was going to get revenge on him. He'd make sure Mario would embarrass himself in front of Peach, he would, he... Or not. Luigi was better at schoolwork, but Mario tended to have the bigger brain when it came to things like this.

As Luigi had to think up of a dare for Mario, however (which involved sticking his tongue out at their teacher when they had math class later on), he felt a little less furious and a little more happy. It may have only been a friendly kiss, but if that was the most he'd get from Daisy... he was pretty content.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! This is the only middle school chapter I'll be doing because I've used a lot of my middle school related ideas in my _Mario and Friends_ series. Please review!**


	12. Green with Envy

**Waluigi makes a comeback! Yay... not! (As far as Luigi's concerned, anyway.)**

 **Steel Fairy: Yeah, I thought Mario would like Truth or Dare. Also I like to think that a very small part of Daisy likes Luigi as more than a friend, but she doesn't realise it just yet. Thanks for the review!**

 **ultimateCCC: Gosh, I'm sorry, but I couldn't write an adventure chapter! I've tried it before (though I never published it online), and it was an enormous fail. Thanks for the suggestion though, and for reviewing!**

 **Colorful and Free: Glad you liked it and thank you for the review!**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Only time will tell! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **aiai3668:** **Yeah, there will be some time when Luigi's in the friendzone (though I like to think that Daisy likes him a little but doesn't realise it for a while). Thanks for reviewing!**

 **SpiderDom321:** **I'm really happy you liked it, your review made my day! And I'm glad you like my username! I wanted to call myself _Anonymous Girl_ , but that was taken, so I decided to add Gamer at the end since I love Mario games. Thanks for reading my fanfic!**

 **HiyaItsHails: I'm so glad you enjoyed reading this! I actually had a different chapter in mind, but I didn't like it so I changed it. For the record, it was to do with Bowser almost hurting Daisy and Luigi saving her. Why I changed it to Truth or Dare was because the original middle school chapter made Daisy out to be a spitfire who provoked people for stupid reasons and couldn't save herself - not how I wanted to portray her. Thank you for reviewing!**

 **MetalKiwi: I'm really glad you liked it! Luaisy's my favourite ship too. Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to SpiderDom321 and MetalKiwi for following and favouriting!**

* * *

Mushroom High.

Mario, Luigi and Daisy strolled inside together, so far unimpressed. As of today, they were part of the older "half" of the school, and attended a different part of the school building from when they were in middle school, but if they had to be honest, they felt the exact same as the previous year.

Daisy noticed that lots of people were staring at her. At first, she wondered why. Then it hit her: apart from the ninth and tenth graders, nobody else was used to seeing the Princess of Sarasaland going to school with them, the commoners.

"What?" she said loudly to the crowds with her best intimidating expression. "Do I look weird or something?"

The students averted their eyes once they got over the shock of royalty shouting at them.

"Well that wasn't harsh," Mario commented quietly.

"What else did you expect me to do?" Daisy pouted, crossing her arms. "You know I hate it when people look at me like that. Like I'm that much more special than them. Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I'm okay with that."

Mario opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but thought better of it.

"Anyway, I'm going to the restroom," he said instead, walking off. "See you."

Daisy and Luigi watched as he went away, and decided to head for outside. The weather was nice, clear cloudless skies and bright sunshine, and they made small talk as they took a walk around the school. As Luigi spoke to his best friend, he couldn't help wishing that their relationship was less friendly and more like Mario and Peach's. It was clear that it was never going to happen - Daisy never seemed romantically interested in boys - but it didn't hurt to dream, did it?

Well, perhaps it did. He wouldn't be in this situation right now if she wasn't always on his mind. Not that it was something he could control.

Just then, he noticed her staring ahead, her brow furrowed.

"Luigi... See that guy over there? The tall one walking towards us?"

Luigi froze when he followed her gaze. "W-where? The one with the purple shirt?"

"Yeah. Doesn't he look a lot like Waluigi?"

Luigi hadn't seen his cousin in years, but he'd recognise him anywhere. One didn't forget such a lanky, distinctive-looking person so easily. Especially when that person happened to be Waluigi, his cousin, his childhood enemy.

As Waluigi approached the pair, Luigi watched his baffled expression turn into one of recognition. When they were close enough, the guy in purple stopped, narrowing his eyes.

"Luigi?"

Luigi held out his hand warily. "W-Waluigi. Long time no see, eh?"

Their reunion was far from warm as they eyed each other. Neither had changed very much since they'd last been in the same class. Their voices were deeper, and each had the beginnings of a moustache on their upper lips. Luigi was noticeably taller, and as for Waluigi, he towered right over him. Other than that, they were pretty much the same as they had looked back when they were kids.

Luigi fervently hoped that Waluigi's personality had changed more than his looks. He had many memories of his cousin, none good.

Waluigi wished for the same thing in regards to his old rival. Always had friends around him, the little loser, while he seemed to be hated even by his own parents. His only friend was his brother Wario, but with his luck he couldn't be sure.

Even so, they mutually decided to put their pasts behind them. What could go wrong with an innocent greeting, anyway?

At that moment, Waluigi noticed the redhead standing next to Luigi - Princess Daisy, by the looks of it. Wow, she sure had gotten hotter over time... He remembered her as a scrawny, scabby-kneed tomboy who'd insulted him and even hit him at one stage, but with her clear skin, luscious locks and curvy figure, there was no denying that she was very pretty. She wasn't often on the Mushroom Kingdom news, so it came as quite a surprise when he saw her, standing in front of him.

Meanwhile, Luigi had seen his cousin's interested stare, and didn't care for the wide-eyed look on Daisy's face, so he broke the moment by directing Waluigi's attention back to him.

"So... how are things going?"

"Fine, I guess. You?"

"Same. How come you're here?"

Waluigi shrugged. "Changed school. We got expelled from our last one for smoking on school grounds."

"Oh."

Waluigi and Daisy exchanged another long glance, and it was all Luigi could do not to punch him right in the face. He reassured himself that she hated Waluigi almost as much as he did, and he was just being paranoid, wasn't he? Wasn't he?

Waluigi gave Daisy a slow smirk. "Princess Daisy..." he said, speaking to her for the first time. "Haven't seen you in ages."

"My name's Daisy. Not _Princess_ Daisy." She tried to look cross, but Luigi could see an ill-concealed smile playing on her lips.

"Daisy." Waluigi's smirk grew wider, and a slight flush rose in the young princess's cheeks. _"_ And... I was wondering." He glanced at Luigi. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Luigi's own face heated up. "N-no, no!" _If only she was._

Waluigi eyed him suspiciously for a moment, then turned back to Daisy. "Well then... Is a date with me out of the question, Daisy?"

"A date?"

"Yeah. That is, if you want to..."

"Yeah. Sure. Whenever you're free." Daisy was attempting to act casual, but Luigi could almost _feel the_ excitement emanating from her straight posture.

"Saturday? Is that okay?"

"Hmmm..." Daisy thought about it. Luigi scowled. He knew she had nothing special going on that Saturday. She was just playing hard to get. "Yep. I'm not doing anything on that day. What time?"

"Six in the evening?"

"Six in the evening... Yeah, sure. Where?"

"I was thinking at Fire Flower Cafe?"

"Yeah. Well... see you on Saturday, Waluigi," she said with a big smile.

"See you, Daisy."

Luigi could only gawp as Waluigi walked away, leaving Daisy to drool after him. How on earth did Waluigi manage to win Daisy over with a stare and a few words? How, _how_ , why her, why couldn't it be someone else? Why?

Daisy gave an excited squeal once Waluigi was out of sight.

"I can't believe I'm going on a date!" she gushed, oblivious to the odd expression on Luigi's face. "Wow, what happened to your cousin? He used to be such a jerk, and now look at him! I never thought I'd say this, but he is _hot_!"

Luigi didn't know what to do next, only that he couldn't stand her incoherent ramblings any longer.

"Daisy, I... I just remembered that I have to give something to Mario. He... He'll get mad if I don't give it to him before class. Uhh... See you!"

He ran off, leaving behind a very confused princess to wonder what was so urgent about this 'something'.

Luigi rushed into the nearest restroom, locked himself into the first cubicle and breathed deeply to calm his racing heart. Was this really happening? Had Daisy really fallen for his despicable rival? Or was this some sort of weird dream? It had to be, surely: the situation was too odd.

After a few minutes he walked out of the restroom as the bell was close to ringing. He didn't want to make his day worse by being late for first class.

* * *

He didn't feel any better by the time first break arrived. He had no idea where Mario and Daisy were, and neither did he care. He didn't feel like facing his brother's questions about why he looked so gutted, and he certainly had no desire to listen to Daisy yapping on and on about Waluigi.

By some strange coincidence, Waluigi happened to approach Luigi just as he'd thought of him. He didn't look all that pleased, which was probably just as well, now that he thought about it. It was good that he disliked Waluigi so much, in a way, it was good that Waluigi was a horrible person. At least now he'd have a valid excuse to hate his crush's crush.

Waluigi leaned on the wall next to him, saying nothing. Luigi stared at him with one eyebrow raised. What was he playing at?

The guy in purple nudged Luigi's ribs with his bony elbow, and Luigi smothered a cry of pain. He was such a wimp, he told himself mentally. That was why Daisy would pick someone more worthy of her love. This was why she didn't like him that way - and never would.

"You have the hots for Daisy," Waluigi said, narrowing his eyes a little. "Don't you?"

A slow blush crept up Luigi's neck before he could prevent it, and Waluigi had his answer. He jabbed a finger on his cousin's chest, narrowing his gaze further.

"If you know what's good for you," he snarled, "you won't go near her again. Got it, cousin?"

His embarrassment replaced with anger, Luigi death stared his rival. Waluigi had no right to control who he was friends with. He'd known Daisy since she was a baby, for crying out loud!

"Aww, what's wrong? Widdle Weegie's gonna thwow a tantwum, uh? Why? Upset that your pretty little princess likes _me_ more than _you_? Aww, that's cute." He stepped away, smirking. "Don't you know, Luigi, that only the nice guys get stuck in the friendzone? Didn't you know that? Remember that next time... if there is a next time for losers like you."

Luigi's glare faded into a look of pain as the words hit him, harder than he could have thought possible. Of course. The friendzone. He was trapped in that undesirable place where few managed to escape from, watching from the sidelines as their heart got broken. Why did he ever bother hoping? Why did he even allow himself to fall for Daisy in the first place?

When Waluigi was well out of sight, he kicked a stone as hard as he could, ignoring the questioning stares from passers-by. It was true what they said. Life really wasn't fair. Some people got the good genes, others didn't. Some got the charismatic personality, others were clumsy lovelorn idiots like himself. There were those lucky people whose love was returned and with others, it was the opposite.

And a lot of the times, there was nothing that could be done about it.

* * *

 **Phew! I had to rewrite some parts because in the original version, Luigi was a bit _too_ over dramatic and _too_ upset, and Daisy was way too girly, to the point of OOC. They're only fourteen, so while Luigi may have quite a crush on Daisy, he's not going to be _that_ depressed, let's face it. And while Daisy may have a girly side, she wouldn't be acting all giggly and swoony around her crush.  
Anyway, I hope nobody minds that Daisy and Waluigi are going on a date. It's only temporary, I promise. Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	13. Awkward Date

**Hi!**

 **ultimate** **CCC: Thank you for reviewing!**

 **aiai3668: Yeah. Besides, I don't think Waluigi would impress Daisy much if he was openly antagonising her in front of her best friend. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Steel Fairy: Yeah, I know it's a Luaisy fic, but I thought it'd be more realistic if Daisy liked someone else before Luigi. And there's no denying that Nintendo has hinted that Waluigi likes Daisy, so I kind of worked from that. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Derick Lindsey: Yeah, in the original draft, in your words, Luigi really did feel like the world was ending (which would have been very unrealistic for a fourteen year old)! I'm glad you liked their characterisation and thanks for the review!**

 **Infinite's Ruby: I'm glad you don't mind Daisy dating Waluigi! It's only for a bit, anyway. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **SpiderDom321: I'm happy you liked how I wrote the last chapter! Thank you so much for reviewing!**

 **Colorful and Free:** **Yeah, that's true. And about Waluigi and Daisy... In the games themselves, there's only one person I want Daisy to be with, and that's Luigi. However, in the world of fanfiction, I ship Waluigi and Daisy a little and I may sometimes experiment with this couple. Luigi X Daisy is still my OTP, though. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to Dolfijn5 for following!**

* * *

 _Sat, 17:55, 04 Sept_

Good old reliable digital alarm clock. The one thing that woke him up in the mornings, though it rarely worked on his brother. It told him the time, the date, and the day of the week. He'd had it since he was nine years old, and he'd always been grateful for it.

Today, however, he wished he didn't have to look at it. Knowing the time, the date and the day of the week was something he'd rather be ignorant of right now; for Daisy's date with Waluigi would be taking place five minutes, and he'd rather not have any more reminders of that. Daisy mentioning his name twenty times a day was more than enough.

He turned away from his clock and faced the wall. Why was he so upset anyway? _O_ _nly the nice guys get stuck in the friendzone_.

* * *

Daisy smiled as she entered the cafe, despite the argument she'd had with her father beforehand. Why did she have to have two bodyguards guarding her, and watching her inside the cafe? At least they were disguised as normal people, but it made no sense! She was older now, and more physically able to defend herself if somebody wanted to kidnap her!

Oh well, that didn't matter now. Fight or no fight, she was here to enjoy her date with Waluigi, not think about her tiff with Dad.

She frowned as she sat on one of the orange booths and checked the clock on the wall. It was a couple of minutes past six: he was late. She tried to think of excuses. His clock was behind. His parents were stuck in a traffic jam. Something trivial had caused him to be tardy. But as the large hand ticked by and settled on the second mark, she began to fret a little, and her worries became more serious. Either something bad happened...

Or he'd stood her up.

Waluigi finally strolled into the cafe at a quarter past six, his smirk widening as he saw Daisy. A part of her was put off by his lack of apology as he sat in front of her, but she said nothing.

As they made small, flirtatious talk with each other, Daisy couldn't help staring at him. Come to think of it, he wasn't that good-looking, but he was certainly attractive in his own unique way. He was the type of guy that some girls would think was ugly, and others would think the opposite.

As for Waluigi, he was feeling the same way he did when he cheated on a test and got the highest grade in class. Actually, this felt better. He was well aware of Daisy's admiration for him, and he was triumphant, so triumphant. Stupid Luigi. Studying didn't necessarily ensure the highest grades - he knew that from experience, when the nerds burned themselves out trying to do well and he still beat them. Likewise, just because Luigi had been with Daisy the longest, didn't mean Waluigi couldn't snatch her right under his big nose.

And he could bet he was so jealous right now. Alone in his room, probably bawling his eyes out. Pathetic. He wished Luigi was standing right here, watching him chat to a hot princess while he was forever alone. Served him right.

They made their orders when the waitress arrived at their table, and Waluigi tried very, very hard to keep up his manners in front of Daisy, even when the twitchy Toad girl kept asking them to repeat what they'd asked for. It would be very humiliating for her to lose interest in him after the first date. Not only would it be a major one-up for Luigi (no pun intended), it might even jeopardise any future chances he had at dates.

Just then, his attention was diverted by a stunning young blonde with an hourglass figure passing their table. Forget his manners, she was _hot_! Hotter than Daisy, he realised with a twinge of regret; but he mustn't forget that Daisy was the princess here, not the blonde girl. That made her better and more desirable, he told himself, not to mention that he'd asked Daisy out mainly to hurt Luigi's fragile feelings.

Meanwhile, Daisy hadn't missed his wandering gaze, and was inwardly seething with anger. She tried to force herself into thinking she was just paranoid, but her instincts suggested otherwise. She excused herself to go to the restroom, locked herself into a cubicle and leaned against the cool wall. She took a few deep breaths, and eventually calmed down. Was this night a big, huge mistake? Or was she just getting worked up over nothing? She'd always had a short temper around annoying people. Wait, had she just called him annoying?

She sighed. She'd leave the restroom, and give Waluigi another try. Perhaps she was simply jealous, and had imagined him looking at another girl. Maybe something else had caught his attention at the same time the blonde girl passed them. A beautiful blonde girl who was superior to her in the looks department...

Okay, she had to stop this. She would walk over to him and _smile,_ even when she didn't feel like it anymore, and ignore the fact that he was glancing behind his shoulder to look at the same girl, and-

"Hey, I'm back," she said through gritted teeth.

He turned around and smirked. Gosh, was that the only facial expression he could manage apart from that toothy grin she knew from childhood?

"So..." she interjected, laughing awkwardly. "I'm excited for the food. Aren't you?"

He shrugged. "Not really. You look good enough to eat - that's enough for me."

She faked a giggle, all while thinking what an arrogant moron he was. The food arrived at that moment, and Daisy was delighted to be able to distract herself with her strawberry cheesecake slice and latte. She began to wonder what exactly she had seen in him. After all, he'd been a jerk as a child. What made her think that he would have changed? Perhaps that was what she had wanted to believe. She'd fallen for his strange good looks, the way he was watching her, and the excitement of having somebody want her in a romantic way, but now she knew - she was just another pretty girl, and her princess status made her all the more desirable in his eyes. Desirable, provided it wasn't going to be a long-term relationship. She would bet all of her wealth on that.

"So..." Waluigi drawled. "How's Luigi these days?"

Daisy frowned. "Why do you care?"

"Can't I ask how your friend's doing?"

A short pause ensued. Maybe she was being a little _too_ hard on him, even if she now considered him a sleazebag.

"He's doing fine," she smiled. "You still hate him as much as you used to?"

"Well to be honest I-" He stopped at the look on Daisy's face. He knew she wouldn't appreciate it if he told her he still despised her best friend. "I... I think I can tolerate him. I'll tolerate him just for you, princess."

"I told you, don't call me 'princess'."

"I remember. I was just kidding." He smiled, flashing an even set of blindingly white teeth. "And what about Mario? How's he doing?"

"He's fine. We're already having a math test next Tuesday-"

"Already?"

She was tempted to scold him for interrupting, but continued with her sentence instead. "Yeah, already. Anyway, Mario's kind of worried about it because math was never his strongest point, or any school subject, really. Luigi's worried too, but he always worries too much. You know, he goes into every exam thinking he's going to fail even though he's studied for hours straight before it, and he always comes out with an A. The lowest I've ever seen him get was a B+. I always tell him that he doesn't need to be so worried all the time - Mario and Peach say the same thing - but he never listens. It'd be kind of cute if he wasn't suffering so much."

"Cute, huh."

"What?"

"So you think Luigi's cute."

"What? No, that's not... that's not what I was saying. I was just saying that-"

"He was cute."

She gave a frustrated sigh. "No Waluigi, that's not what I meant. You know that's not what I was saying. Stop trying to read into my words!"

"I'm just repeating what you just said. You said he was cute."

"No! I-"

"I don't know, Daisy," he said, his jaw clenching. "Sounds to me like you have a thing for him."

"Wait, so I can't call a guy cute? I didn't even mean it that way, it's a figure of speech Waluigi!"

"Good point, but when the guy in question so happens to be your best friend, and when your face literally lights up when you talk about him, it kind of makes me wonder if you-"

"Waluigi. He's not my only boy friend. Actually I meant boy-space-friend, before you start making more of your stupid assumptions. If you were listening to me the whole time, you'd have heard that Mario happens to be my other guy friend!"

"I know. But that's different."

"How is that different?"

"I see the way Luigi looks at you."

"You're just jealous. Jealous, and paranoid!"

"Are you blind, or are you just stupid? He has the hots for you! Can't you see?"

"No, I can't see. Actually Waluigi, I think you're the one who's blind 'cause that's clearly not what's going on!"

"And you probably like him back. Didn't think you were the cheating type, Daisy."

"Excuse me? _I'm_ cheating on you?" Daisy felt her blood boil with rage, and it showed on her cheeks. This night was going from bad to plain nasty! "I've been watching you looking at a blonde girl, Waluigi - see, I'm not that blind and stupid! - right in front of me, might I add, and you dare to accuse _me_ of cheating? Give me a break."

"I wasn't looking at that girl!"

"It's really interesting how you know exactly who I'm talking about. You know what? I'm done here."

For the first time that evening, Waluigi scowled. There. That was the Waluigi she was more familiar with. "Have it your way, _Princess_. Should have known you were more into wimps anyway."

Daisy swung her arm back, and before he knew it, his head jerked sideways and his cheek was smarting with the pain of her slap.

"Wah! What was that for?"

The redhead glared at him fiercely, and spoke in a low tone."Don't speak to me or my friends ever again."

And with that, ignoring Waluigi and the disapproving mutters of an old couple, she stormed out of the cafe with her two bodyguards following her, not looking back.

* * *

 **I had a dream a couple of nights ago that I was playing Mario and Sonic on my Switch (I'm sure this will be a reality someday). I chose to play as Waluigi. He took off his hat and I discovered that he was, in fact, bald. I couldn't unsee the image as I wrote this chapter.  
Also, I was listening to the final boss theme of Dream Team, which made writing a chapter about an awkward date feel pretty epic! This will be continued next time, by the way.  
This has to be the most random A/N I've written... maybe ever! Anyway, please leave a review and let me know what you think! Also, can you guess why I called this chapter _Awkward Date_? **


	14. The Last Straw

**And yes, the last chapter was called _Awkward Date_ because when you pair Daisy and Waluigi in some _Mario Party_ games, you get that name. Well done to everyone who got it! Also this chapter takes place on the Monday after the last chapter. Hope you like it!**

 **Steel Fairy: I bet that if they do make a Mario and Sonic 2020 game for the Switch it'll be the best they've ever done, since both Nintendo and Sega are from Japan. Thanks for reviewing and I'm so happy you liked it!**

 **aiai3668: Yeah, it really was a horrible date. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **ultimateCCC: I'm so glad she's in Smash too! It's about time. Thanks for your review!**

 **Derick Lindsey: I'm super excited, Daisy's my favourite character and she deserves recognition. I don't even play Smash, but I'm still so happy that Daisy made it. Thank you for reviewing!**

 **Infinite's Ruby: Yeah, it wouldn't be a real Luaisy fic if there was too much Waluaisy. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Colorful and Free:** **You're right in your predictions for this chapter, but there will be more going on too. Thanks for reviewing and I'm happy you liked it!**

 **HiyaItsTails:** **I don't play much Mario Party either (the only one I have is _Mario Party DS,_ the last good party game in my opinion - though _Super Mario Party_ for the Switch seems promising). Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to itsclassified007 for following, and GameLord The Hitman for following and favouriting!**

* * *

Luigi was worried that Monday morning as he walked with Mario and Daisy around the school. The redhead wasn't talking, which was unusual for her, and Mario seemed to sense the tension too as he fidgeted nervously, eyeing Daisy with a concerned expression.

Luigi scowled a little. Her date with Waluigi mustn't have gone very well for her to walk around with a face like that - not that he was surprised. But he didn't want to say anything for now - she might not want to talk about it.

The bell rang and they had to separate for their classes, but Luigi kept thinking about it as he did his work. At big break, he finally summoned the courage to mention it. Luckily, Mario wasn't there to watch them - he was busy cramming for an upcoming test in the library.

"Daisy," he said quietly. "Are you... are you okay?"

She was silent for a bit before glaring at him.

"Do I look okay?" she snapped.

Luigi winced at her tone, and Daisy felt guilty.

"Gosh Luigi, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out at you like that. It's just... it's just everything."

"Oh? Well, um, Daisy? I-I need you to tell me this honestly, and it's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but-"

"My date? It was a disaster. A complete disaster."

"... What did he do?"

"Stared at some gorgeous blonde girl, kept twisting what I was trying to say. He said that... that..." Daisy was reluctant to tell Luigi what Waluigi had suspected. "Nothing. I'd rather not say what he said. Let's just say he was being a hypocrite and I was really annoyed with him and I hope I'll never have to speak to him again."

Luigi's face was white with rage.

Waluigi upset Daisy.

Waluigi treated Daisy this way.

Waluigi. Would. _Pay._

"Luigi?" Daisy uttered, eyeing him in concern.

But Luigi barely heard her as he got up and stormed off. Her problems forgotten for a second, Daisy wondered what had led him to leave so abruptly as she watched him head towards the corner of the room. She didn't care for the wild look in his normally gentle eyes.

Meanwhile, Luigi had a purpose. He'd teach Waluigi to flirt with another girl in front of Daisy. He'd teach him to ruin her first date.

He had promised himself that he'd take care of Daisy years ago. Now was his chance to do just that.

Luigi's anger built up even more as he set eyes on his rival, and he felt no fear as Waluigi turned away from Wario, the curl of his lip contemptuous as he regarded Luigi standing in front of him.

 _He couldn't wait to wipe that sneer off his face._

He swung his fist back and punched him squarely on his long, pink nose, and was half horrified, half delighted at the sight of blood flowing from his nostrils.

 _Still think I'm a wimp, Waluigi?_

Waluigi tried to shield himself, bringing his arm up to his face, but it was to no avail, as Luigi managed to hit his stomach and knock him off his seat.

 _This is for treating Daisy like dirt._

Another punch. A cry of pain from Waluigi.

 _And this is for always acting like a jerk._

Wario joined in, trying to get Luigi off Waluigi. Wario's strong arms separated both rivals - but it only took a moment for Luigi to return to what he was doing. He felt another pair of hands dragging him away, but he couldn't care less. Not even when he discovered that the hands belonged to his science teacher.

 _It was still worth it. He had no regrets._

 _None at all._

* * *

He had so many regrets.

He knew he'd made a huge mistake when he was brought to the principal's office and was questioned. He'd explained the situation, but the principal concluded that it was no excuse for his actions. In the principal's words, he was therefore obliged to stay an extra hour after school hours for a week. In simpler terms, detention.

Detention _._

Luigi had always thought that was reserved for the the teenagers who despised school, the ones who picked fights for the sake of it and the bullies and the people who regularly back-talked the teachers and failed to complete their homework. Now he realised that anyone could get this punishment - his good reputation with the teachers made no difference.

And as if he hadn't had a bad enough time at the principal's office, he was going to have to face more questions from his family and worse, Daisy. His parents would want to know why he was home late today; they'd ask him what had led him to beat up another student. And Daisy would wonder why he'd reacted so violently.

To be honest, he didn't know himself. All he knew was that he wanted, _needed_ to teach Waluigi a lesson after all those years, and the way he'd acted at his date with Daisy was the last straw. Because even if he hated the idea of them being together, he hated the idea of Daisy being treated badly even more.

At least one good thing came out of it - Waluigi could no longer call him a wimp. After losing that fight, he'd finally have some respect for his 'crybaby' cousin. But that was of little comfort to him as he stared at his table. People groaned when they had to do work in class, but doing nothing was even more boring. Oh well. At least it gave him a chance to plan his speech to his parents. He may as well make the most of his time.

* * *

Luigi was quite scared as he headed for school the next morning. His parents weren't happy with him getting a detention, to say the least, so how would Daisy react? Would she get mad at him? Would she think he was nothing more than an impulsive idiot? Would she see him differently from now on?

Would she still want to be friends with him?

He gulped when he saw her approach him and Mario, and she wasn't smiling - not a good sign.

"Mario," she said when she was next to them, "do you mind giving us a moment?"

Mario, suspecting it was to do with the fight, nodded and left. Luigi took a deep breath, and tried to look Daisy in the eye. Her expression was still serious - not angry, but not pleased, either. And to his horror, he forgot everything he had been planning on saying.

"Why did you do it?" Daisy asked following an awkward silence.

"I mean, why?" she said before Luigi could get a word in. "I understand that you hate him, but... Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at you. It's just... I don't get it."

"I, uh..."

"I know I'm not making much sense, Luigi. I just don't get why you reacted that way, that's all."

"I..." How could he phrase his reply without hinting at his feelings for her? "I just got mad, because y-you don't deserve that treatment, and-"

"I'd already dealt with him. You didn't need to defend me. I can fight my own battles. You know that."

"I know that, it's just... just... I don't like seeing you all upset, and..."

Luigi dropped his gaze, and something about the way he was scratching the back of his neck and his reddened cheeks made Daisy wonder what his motives really were, but she dismissed the thoughts as soon as they appeared. Just because he was acting shy didn't mean he liked her. He was probably only embarrassed at how much he'd overreacted. Not that she hadn't liked seeing Waluigi get beaten up. There was just no need for it. None at all.

"It's okay," she smiled, mentally vowing to try and forget about it. "I was just curious. Anyway," she said, slinging and arm around him, "what happened when you had to go to the principal's office?"

* * *

 **Not my favourite chapter, but hopefully you still liked it. Please review!**


	15. Changing Relationships

**To avoid any confusion, this chapter takes place almost three years after the last one (in other words it's not connected to the Waluigi X Daisy story). That said, enjoy!**

 **Steel Fairy: Yeah, while I also don't condone... I guess you could technically call it "unprovoked" violence, at the same time I can't entirely blame Luigi. Between Waluigi being his old rival, his jealousy and on top of that, Daisy's date getting ruined because of his enemy... It was all quite tough on Luigi. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **aiai3668: I'm glad you liked it! Writing fight scenes aren't my strong point, so I wasn't sure if it was good or not. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Hip Neptune: Wow, I didn't know that green was linked with loyalty. That really got my interest! (I love random fun facts.) Thanks for reviewing!**

 **HiyaItsTails: Yeah, while Luigi was out of character, he was in character in the sense that despite his usual cowardice, he was still going to defend Daisy (much how like in _Luigi's Mansion_ he's brave enough to rescue Mario). However, I didn't want to portray him as a violence-seeking person, so Luigi and Daisy both acknowledge that what he did was a bit odd for him. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **ultimateCCC: Thank you for your review!**

 **Colorful and Free: Don't worry - while Luigi and Daisy won't be getting together in this chapter, it'll be happening pretty soon. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Sonar: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!**

 **Thanks to skyoceanblu7 and trufflebutter7 for following and favouriting!**

* * *

Normally Daisy was not a morning person. Getting up for school was always an ordeal - one of the main reasons she was dreading her first day back, which was only a fortnight away. And if she got up any time before midday when there was no school, well, her father would throw her a strange look and ask if she was feeling alright.

Yet it was half eight that day in August when the young Princess of Sarasaland was busy scurrying around the kitchen, preparing her own bowl of cereal rather than relying on one of the servants to carry it up to her on a tray. For Daisy was very excited, as Mario and Luigi were returning from their two month vacation in New Donk City, their parents' hometown.

Her own summer holidays hadn't been as interesting. She had Peach to talk to, but it wasn't the same. She especially missed Luigi, more than Mario and more than she'd thought she would. But, looking on the bright side, at least her relationship with him wasn't romantic. She knew Peach missed Mario a lot more.

When she had finished her breakfast she put on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, since the weather was hot. She then phoned Peach to meet her at Sarasaland Castle. The excitement in Peach's voice was easily discernible.

She flopped onto her bed and picked up her Nintendo. However, as she switched between different games, hoping one of them would relax her, she found that she could not concentrate on any of them. She was just too happy that her friends were coming back - that Luigi was coming back. Wow, she really was thinking about him a lot that day. Actually, he'd been on her mind all summer, entering her thoughts at random times. But now, she couldn't seem to get him out of her brain at all. It was the anticipation, of course.

After messing up on a minigame and coming last due to her inability to pay attention, she gave up, turned off her console, walked towards her full length mirror and for the first time in months, scrutinised herself in the glass. Hmm, the sports shorts weren't very feminine. Maybe she should change into a dress, or a skirt, or...

Wait, why did her appearance bother her all of a sudden? It wasn't like Luigi - _they_ \- would care. Nevertheless, she removed a short tennis dress from her wardrobe and wore that instead, a garment Peach had given her for her sixteenth birthday that she'd never gotten around to wearing. She also gave her auburn hair a thorough brush for good measure. There. That was better.

She couldn't wait to hear what had happened during their holiday. Neither of the Mario brothers had brought their phones with them since their parents had thought it would detract from the visit, so Peach and Daisy had had no contact with them. She had never been abroad - the Mushroom Kingdom didn't count - so she looked forward to their stories of New Donk City.

"Daisy! Peach is here!"

At the sound of her father's voice, Daisy ran downstairs to greet her cousin.

"Hi Daisy!" Peach smiled. She wasn't dressed in her usual princess attire, and looked very pretty in a mini-dress similar to Daisy's in style.

"Hey Peach!"

"I like the dress!" Peach said. Daisy hid a smirk; Peach always noticed things like that. "Wait," she said, narrowing her eyes a little, "isn't that the one I got you for your birthday?"

"Sure is."

"It's really nice." She chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day. But I thought you hated dresses?"

"Yeah, I... I just felt like it, I guess."

"Hmm."

"Well, why are you still standing there? Come on in!" Daisy ushered her into her 'playroom', which now resembled an extra sitting room, just for Daisy. They sat on the couch, and made themselves comfortable before speaking again.

"Wow," Daisy grinned, "I sure am excited to see them again! It's been so long."

"Yes. I hope they had a great time."

Daisy smirked. "And I bet you're excited to see Mario, huh?"

A slight blush crept up Peach's neck. "Yeah... I... You know how I feel about Mario."

"Hmm."

"I mean, he's so charismatic, and kind, and-"

"I guess so," Daisy interrupted. Peach spoke a little too much about Mario, and it could get repetitive after a while. "Heh, I never thought you'd fall for Mario of all people! I mean, I know you always had a thing for each other as kids, but there's so many princes you could have gone out with instead!"

"I have no interest in princes," Peach sniffed. "Toadsworth keeps asking me whether I'd like to marry Prince Peasley of the Beanbean Kingdom..."

"Oh no..."

"Don't worry. He's not that serious yet and I will talk him out of it. He'll see the situation from my point of view in no time. Anyway, what about you and Luigi? When are _you_ going to start courting each other?"

"Pfft. Luigi? No. We're just buddies."

"Are you sure?"

"Course I'm sure. Why? What makes you think we're more than that?"

"Well, sometimes I..." Peach stopped, not wanting to tell her cousin about Luigi's obvious feelings for her, for fear of making things awkward between them. "Nothing. I suppose I've been reading too many romantic novels lately!"

"Yeah," Daisy said, her voice taking on a defensive tone. "There's nothing going on between us, Peach. We've never been anything more than friends." She checked her watch. "We'd better get going, they'll be at the cafe soon."

"Yes, we should."

They left the castle, with a number of guards following them, and made small talk as they headed for the cafe. Daisy, however, was not paying a lot of attention, and was instead thinking about what her best friend had said. Did she and Luigi really act like sweethearts? Peach was smarter than she acted, and there must have been a good reason for her to mention that. Or maybe she was only imagining things. Who knew?

But what really confused her was the fact that it was bothering her. Did Luigi like her? Not as a friend, but as something more? At first she couldn't come up with anything, but on second thought, there were quite a few instances that pointed towards a 'yes' answer.

The time she'd gone on a date with Waluigi, for example. He _had_ acted strangely whenever she'd gushed about him, and he had received a detention for beating him up not long afterwards. And this was coming from a boy who was almost never in trouble. But, Waluigi was also Luigi's childhood rival, so it didn't necessarily mean he had a thing for her. And above all, that had happened years ago.

He was also quite shy around her, always blushing or fiddling with his hands or not meeting her eyes. Then again, he had a timid personality, so perhaps it was just in him to be that way?

She decided not to focus on it too much. The last thing she wanted was for their friendship to suffer over a comment. Peach might have meant it innocently, anyway.

They reached the cafe after a while. They walked inside, and occupied a cushioned seat across from each other by the window. Mario and Luigi weren't anywhere to be found, meaning they were running late.

Just then, they caught sight of the brothers from the glass, with a girl they didn't know. The tall brunette had her arm around Mario's shoulders, and the three seemed to be having a good time.

Peach, however, was far from happy. She narrowed her eyes as she saw the girl in the red dress, and Daisy hoped she was just a relative.

They entered the building, and Mario visibly gulped as he saw the blonde princess. Still, he gave the girls a little wave, followed by a shy smile from Luigi and a friendly grin from the brunette.

"Hey!" Mario greeted, sitting next to the blonde. There was space for three people, so his friend/girlfriend/relative also sat beside him.

"Hey Mario. Hey Luigi!" Daisy grinned, looking at Luigi and patting the seat next to her. "Here, have a seat!"

As he sat down, his hand accidentally brushed against Daisy's, causing him to snatch it away and turn bright red in the face. Daisy was reminded of what Peach had said, and found the atmosphere suddenly very awkward.

All five teenagers were silent, too embarrassed to look at each other - with the exception of the new girl, who could sense the tension but wasn't sure if she should be the one to break it. Eventually, Peach spoke, her voice sounding a little strangled.

"So, Mario." She cleared her throat. "Introduce us to your, err, new friend...?"

"Oh. Yeah. Okey dokey. Everyone, this is my, um... girlfriend. Pauline. P-Pauline, these are my friends: Peach, the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, and Daisy, the Princess of Sarasaland. Where we are now," he added needlessly.

"Hi Peach, hi Daisy!" Pauline clamped a hand over her mouth. "Gosh, where are my manners? I should have called you "Princess"... I'm so sorry, it just slipped out..."

Daisy wanted to hate Pauline, but judging by her horrified expression, she knew it was an honest mistake. "It's okay! You can call me Daisy, I like it better than "Princess Daisy" anyway."

"Really?" She looked relieved. "Are you sure that's okay?"

"Yep!" she said, feeling like a traitor towards Peach, whose mouth was set in a hard line.

"So, I'm assuming your vacation went well?" Peach asked coolly.

"Oh yeah, it was great," Mario said, unable to look the Princess in the eye. "I mean, I-I met Pauline... w-what could be better than that...?" Mario trailed off - Peach's hostile glare was making him feel highly uncomfortable.

The blonde was clearly regretting her question, but Daisy had to admire her composure. If she had been in Peach's shoes, Mario would have been in hospital with a broken nose by now. How dare he flaunt another girl in front of the princess he had been leading on for years? As Pauline chattered animatedly about how they'd met at Mario and Luigi's family reunion, Daisy couldn't find any fault with her - it wouldn't be fair to blame her for what had happened. No. It was Mario who was in the wrong. Letting Peach believe there was something going on between them, then doing this to her once her back was turned. Not cool. Not cool at all.

But as Mario squirmed in his seat every time Pauline touched him affectionately, she felt some pity for her childhood friend. He felt bad about what he'd done - it was obvious. And besides - and she'd never say this to Peach - they hadn't been going out. They liked each other a lot and spent a lot of time together and had even kissed once, but they were not, officially, boyfriend and girlfriend. Peach always denied any rumours that said they were.

For someone who had only met the princesses that day, Pauline was doing almost all of the talking, and Daisy learnt a lot about Mario and Luigi's holiday from her. Pauline's parents were close friends with Mario's uncle, who was hosting the reunion, and she and her mother and father had been present. Pauline and Mario had gotten talking, and after discovering that they weren't related, they began to feel attracted to each other. They promised to meet up over the vacation, and after seeing her a few times, Mario summoned the courage to ask her out. Neither of their parents had any problem with them being together, so they went on numerous dates when they had spare time.

The brunette insisted that this was more than a summer romance. She had begged her mom and dad to let her visit the Mushroom Kingdom before school started, and they agreed - her birthday was coming soon, and the holiday could count as an early present. She and her parents were staying at Tanooki Hotel, and Pauline was delighted that she could be with her boyfriend for as much time as possible.

Mario faked a smile as the brunette kissed his cheek.

"How nice," Peach said with an equally false smile. "Um. I'm just going out for some air - I'll be right back."

"Yeah, me too," Pauline said, missing the quick scowl Peach gave her. "It's quite warm in here."

"A-and I'll go too," Mario said. Peach sent an even fiercer scowl his way, but he seemed to be looking everywhere except at her face. The three of them left...

Which left Daisy alone with Luigi.

She didn't know how she felt about that - it shouldn't worry her, but it did. What if he did something that confirmed Peach's suspicions? What if he _did_ like her?

And what if she fell for _him_?

She shrugged it off. She couldn't like him that way, could she? He wasn't really her type - though in all honesty she didn't have a type. What if it turned out that shy guys were her type? She almost laughed out loud. If somebody heard her thoguhts, they might think she was referring to those Shy Guys with the masks!

She felt a little better at her private joke, and turned to Luigi.

"So, Luigi." She smiled. He had been very quiet for the entire time, and she really wanted to find out about New Donk City from his point of view. "Did you enjoy your vacation?"

Luigi looked down as his face flushed darkly. "Yeah, of course, it was f-fantastic."

Daisy tried hard to ignore the fact that he was blushing, and continued. "Tell me all about it! I've only heard Pauline's side of the story."

"A-ah, n-nothing much happened..." He shrugged. "You know, average vacation..."

"Luigi?"

"Yeah?"

"Calm down. It's only me." _Friends don't act this twitchy around each other_ , a voice in her head taunted.

"I-I know, I... I know. It's just... nothing."

His voice petered out. He wasn't about to tell her that he felt incredibly nervous around her, especially now that he hadn't seen her in a while - not to mention that she looked very pretty in her "new" dress, too pretty for him to form coherent sentences.

He had hoped that his time away would eliminate his crush on her so he would stop embarrassing himself like this. There had been times when he had been sure she'd guessed everything, though he was a paranoid person and so couldn't be sure.

He'd hoped that New Donk City would allow him to see her as a friend again, not an attractive girl he was afraid to talk to. But if anything, he had only thought about her more, and he knew that, like Mario sometimes said, he had it bad.

Maybe, if he avoided her as much as possible without coming across as rude, he might lose interest in her. It would be hard, but it would be better than her copping his feelings for her and their friendship suffering as a result. Yes, that was what he'd do.

Meanwhile, Daisy was staring at him in confusion. This whole morning had been a disaster, and now Luigi was virtually mute? What was wrong with everyone today?

 _Nothing's wrong with him. He just likes you._

It was all she could do to keep herself from growling. This was too much for her to take. She wasn't sure about Mario and Peach and Pauline. She wasn't sure if Luigi liked her. She wasn't sure if she liked that idea or not. She wasn't sure if she even cared. No, of course she cared - he was her best friend. Or a boyfriend, depending on how she felt. But she didn't even know how she felt. She didn't know anything!

"I-I think I'll go and join Mario outside," Luigi stammered, staring at his hands. "Pauline's right... It is kind of hot."

"Okay..." Daisy said, relieved to be left alone. "I'll stay here and wait for everyone. See you in a few minutes."

Luigi nodded and walked out. Of all the people he could have fallen for... it had to be his best friend.

* * *

 **This is the third time in a row I've written about a cafe, thought the situations are different: in _Christmas Term Chaos_ it was a date, and in _Butterfly_ it was the main character going out with friends (this one was also supposed to be friendly, but unlike in _Butterfly_ there was a lot of tension). Please review!**


	16. Goodbye

**ultimateCCC:** **Yeah, it doesn't look like Peach will be giving Pauline a chance anytime soon. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Steel Fairy:** **You're right that it'll take time for Luigi and Daisy to reveal their feelings for each other... Luckily, it's perfectly acceptable to skip time in stories, so it'll happen pretty soon for our standards. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **aiai3668:** **I will be writing a Mareach version of this sometime in the future, so it will turn out okay for Mario and Peach (Pauline will be like the Waluigi in this fanfic - except she'll be a lot nicer!) Thanks for reviewing!**

 **HiyaItsHails:** **I really enjoyed writing that chapter, so I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to MidnightJD1 and Shini Namikaze for favouriting!**

* * *

It was a week after their graduation.

Pauline had asked Mario if he would like to move in with her after they finished school, and he agreed. In a couple of days, Mario would be bringing Luigi with him to New Donk City, and they would be staying in an apartment together. To bid them farewell, Peach decided to host a goodbye party for them, despite the fact that Mario was now most definitely in her bad books. But they had been friends for a long time, and Peach didn't want to be so petty as to forget the good times - besides, it was her duty as a princess to be kind to everyone, and it wouldn't be fair on Luigi.

Ah, Luigi. Daisy combed her hair roughly as she thought of him, causing one of the teeth to snap off. Luigi who rarely spoke to her anymore. Luigi who always seemed to avoid her when they were alone. Luigi who would barely look at her, acknowledge her! What was wrong with him for the past year? And why did this infuriate her so much? For ages she had felt nothing but discontentment, and it was all because of Luigi! Argh! Why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

She had been wrong when she'd suspected that Luigi had liked her. He didn't - he mustn't have. For all the time he spent with her, she doubted he even cared about her as a friend anymore. They had drifted apart, just like Mario and Peach had, but she still found that hard to accept. Perhaps that was why she had tried so hard with her appearance that evening - a tiny part of her was still hopeful that he might notice her at Peach's party. This was her last chance - if he didn't acknowledge her tonight, she would simply have to face the truth.

She patted her hair as she peered at her reflection. A young woman with thick auburn hair stared back at her, wearing a light orange dress with a full skirt and short, puffed sleeves which hugged her figure in all the right places. It wasn't really her style, but she supposed she could put up with it. After all, she was getting older, and might have to wear floor-length dresses more regularly.

She checked the clock in her room. Twenty to seven. She had better leave now if she wanted to reach Peach's castle before eight o'clock. As she descended the staircase, the King gazed at his daughter with pride. She would make a wonderful adult princess; he was sure of it. Never mind the town gossips, who thought he wasn't aware that they whispered about Daisy not being as perfect as Peach. She was unique, different, and despite her tomboyish ways and fiery temper, he wouldn't trade her for anyone. After the death of his wife, she was all he had left.

But behind her bright smile, he knew the redhead was worrying about something. She hadn't been as cheerful for a while now, and sometimes he would find her staring into space, a frown on her face - when asked if she was upset about something, she would shrug and snap out of it. It might be that she was simply growing up, but he knew his daughter well, and he suspected there was another reason for her unusual behaviour.

"Daisy," he smiled when she was at the bottom.

"So? How do I look?"

He opened out his arms for a hug, and she ran to him. "You look great, Daisy. Have a good time, okay?"

"I will, Dad."

He let go of her, and looked her in the eye.

"Dad? Is there something wrong?"

"Daisy... _Is_ there something wrong? You're not yourself for the last few months, and when I ask you what's wrong, you tell me it's nothing. But I know there's something up."

"It's nothing, Dad. Really, it isn't. It's been a long year."

"You were never one for fretting about exams, Daisy, and besides, I've told you that you don't need to pass them since you are royalty. You have better things to be worrying about, like your future royal duties."

She shook her head. "Dad, I told you, it's nothing."

He suspected that would be her answer, but there wasn't much more he could do without coming across as a pushy parent. She would tell him when she was ready - if, of course, there was a problem to be spoken about.

"Well, enjoy yourself tonight, okay?"

"I will. Thanks, Dad."

"Goodbye, Daisy."

She left the castle with a smile that vanished as soon as she stepped outside. For a moment she wanted to run back inside and tell Dad everything, how uncertain she was about her feelings for Luigi, and whether he liked her or not. Was she just confused from years of hanging out with Luigi, or did she really see him as something more? Why was it that the more he ignored her, the more she felt attracted to him?

Why him? Why couldn't she like somebody else? Luigi would be crazy to want to be with her, especially when Peach was in the picture. Oh, he spoke to her alright. Just because Peach was beautiful and she was just average. Pretty enough, but still average.

She climbed inside the limousine that her father had bought recently, and her chauffeur drove her to the Mushroom Kingdom. She was excited, she told herself. She would have a wonderful time that night...

Even if Luigi ignored her as usual.

* * *

The chauffeur opened the door for the Sarasaland Princess when they had reached their destination, and she walked towards the castle entrance. She got past the guards, and a forlorn blonde met her in the hallway. Daisy couldn't help admiring how beautiful she looked. Her pink silk dress had been especially made for the occasion, and her golden hair was arranged into a becoming top knot. Her make-up was simple - a touch of mascara, pale foundation and blush - but it was enough to make Daisy feel scruffy and plain.

"Gee Peach, you look great," she told her.

"Thank you," she answered with a small, forced smile. "The party has just started. Mario and Luigi should be here any moment now. Come in!"

Daisy followed her into a "party room" that Peach had had built for her sixteenth birthday. A banner saying "Goodbye Mario and Luigi" hung over the door, and balloons of many different colours decorated the entire room. Tables with food such as sausages, cupcakes and triangular shaped sandwiches occupied the place, and Daisy felt hungry from looking at it all. She knew this wasn't Peach's type of party - she was more into posh events. She was simply being considerate towards Mario and Luigi, who had ordinary tastes.

Soon some more people began to arrive, and the last people to come in were Mario and Luigi, along with their parents and Pauline, to Daisy's surprise. The twins were dressed in jeans, as always, and cheers erupted from the guests as they walked inside, Mario grinning confidently and Luigi with a shy smile.

They looked too young to be leaving home. With their clean shaven faces and their innocent blue eyes, they could pass for ninth graders.

The shouts died down, and conversation resumed between the guests. Peach and Daisy managed to get past the crowds, and after what felt like a long time, they finally reached the Mario brothers. Mario was laughing at something Pauline had said, and Daisy felt Peach stiffen next to her. Daisy was impressed - as always, she controlled her anger.

"Hello, Mario," came the cool greeting. "Hello, Luigi. And hello, P-Pauline."

Daisy felt sorry for her cousin, who could hardly say Pauline's name without stuttering with rage. But she still remained calm! The redhead would not have lasted that long in her shoes. Daisy also greeted the three of them, but while Pauline beamed at the princesses, Mario's shifted his gaze nervously, and Luigi's eyes were glued to the ground. Daisy resisted the urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. What was wrong with him? For the fiftieth time, what was up with him? If she could somehow force Luigi to just _look_ at her again, she would gladly go ahead with it.

An upbeat song was played, and some people started to dance along, while others continued to chat with each other or sampled the food. Peach and Daisy decided to sit on one of the benches - Peach disliked the song, and Daisy couldn't dance to save her life. The redhead's eyes automatically searched for Luigi - he was standing in a corner, talking with a couple of Toads.

She dragged her gaze away from him, and watched Mario and Pauline dancing together instead. The guy in red was a terrible dancer, while the brunette was amazing, but somehow that made the scene all the more charming - if he had been anyone but her cousin's crush.

"Peach?" she whispered, hoping her question wasn't insensitive. "Um, why did you invite Pauline? Peach?"

Her friend's expression was stony. "Manners, Daisy. A princess must always have lovely manners. That's what Toadsworth has been telling me for goodness knows how long. But of course, you wouldn't understand. You've never had to have any."

A long silence ensued between the two young women. Daisy had never seen Peach this angry, and it made her uneasy. But the blonde was not finished yet as she carried on, in low tones.

"You don't get it, do you. You don't understand what it feels like to love someone. What it feels like to want the other person to be happy, even if you're not who they want to be with."

"Peach? Are you okay?"

"Do I look alright? It's easy for you, Daisy. You have an easygoing life, few royal duties, boys who like you."

"Pfft. You mean that date with Waluigi? I'd bet all my money that he only wanted me because I was a princess."

The withering look Peach gave her made Daisy squirm in her seat.

"What? What did I say?"

"You really don't understand, do you?"

As Daisy shook her head slowly, Peach sighed in frustration, tears filling her eyes.

"You know what, Daisy?"

"Huh?"

Her breaths became shallower. "I wish... I wish Mario would look at me the way Luigi looks at you."

Daisy's jaw dropped. Had she heard right? Peach stood up, but Daisy grabbed her arm and stopped her from walking away.

"What's that supposed to mean, Peach?"

"Let me go."

"Tell me what you meant with that!"

"Let me go!"

Daisy looked up at her pleadingly. "Please Peach, tell me. Just tell me. I honestly don't know what you're on about." She turned away and scowled. "I bet you're just mistaken. Luigi doesn't look at me at all; he doesn't care."

Peach's voice was very quiet, but her fury was evident. "Of course he doesn't look at you when you're looking at him. He's shy, that's what shy men do. They don't flirt with you, they try to avoid you and hide how they feel. Not that he's done a very good job of it, because it's so obvious, so painfully obvious to everyone except you. He can't keep his eyes off you when he knows you're not looking. He gets nervous whenever you talk to him, he blushes and stammers... need I say any more?"

"S-so, so Luigi... likes me?"

She gave a short, bitter laugh. "Likes you? He's crazy about you. You're just too dumb to see it. You and Mario are both as blind as each other, blind and stupid, but in your case it's even worse because you like him back - I know you very well, so don't try to deny it. And yet you won't ask him out, won't even try. And you have no confidence issues like Luigi does. At least Mario has an excuse. I was only his childhood crush anyway and he's moved on since then. But you..." She stopped. She was rambling now.

She walked away quickly, not really knowing where she was going only that she had to leave immediately, tears threatening to stream down her face and ruin her makeup.

Meanwhile, Daisy was too stunned to feel any concern for her friend. Luigi liked her? Is in, romantically, not in a friendly way? It...

It made sense now. His excessive shyness around her. His inability to meet her gaze. The way he fidgeted, the way he blushed when she was there. He wasn't ignoring her, he... he liked her. She felt a mixture of shock and joy at the news, and a little giddy too. Luigi liked her...

After shaking her head in confusion and getting a few odd looks from some of the guests, she raised her head and sought out Luigi once more. He was still in the corner, talking to the blue and yellow Toads, but this time he wasn't paying attention to them.

His eyes were on her.

She stared at him a little longer in case she was wrong, but his reaction confirmed that he was, in fact, watching her. Realising that Daisy had caught him, a slow blush swept across his face as he broke eye contact and desperately tried, but failed, to act cool.

She smiled a little. An hour ago she would have been annoyed at his inexplicable awkwardness, but tonight, she thought it was rather cute. Very cute. If he acted that way because he had a thing for her, then that changed everything.

She attempted to catch his eye a few more times, but he knew better than to look at her again. Disappointed, she got up, walked across the room and busied herself with eating one of the ham and cheese sandwiches, though for once she wasn't hungry. She idly nibbled at it, hearing but not listening to some female Toads yapping about makeup and clothes. She glanced at Luigi yet again - now he was talking animatedly to the others, his attention focused on them and nothing else, almost like he was overcompensating for his blunder.

The Toads next to her were squealing excitedly. She sighed. They were so... girly. And not in a good way like Peach.

When she looked at the corner again a few minutes later, he was alone. He was sitting on a bench, deep in thought and twiddling his thumbs. She was about to give up for tonight, when he slowly raised his eyes, searching for something. His gaze settled on the redhead for a second, and before he could lower it again, she smiled and gave him a tiny wink.

His eyes widened as his cheeks flamed with embarrassment, but even though his head instantly snapped downwards, he couldn't hide the small smile that appeared on his face.

She knew what she should do next. She had waited too long for him to recognise her presence again, and she was going to make the most of it.

She stepped away from the girls and headed for where he was sitting. He looked up as she sat next to him, and he gave a quiet gasp.

"D-Daisy? W-what are you doing here?" he faltered.

"Hi Daisy, how are you? I'm fine thanks, how about you?" she smirked. Then, softening her tone, "Hey Luigi. Um..." She was surprised at how nervous she felt. "Wanna... dance?"

"Me?" His voice rose an octave. "Oh, no, I-I can't dance, I'd step on your toes..."

She smiled. "Don't worry. I can't dance either."

"Yes, but..."

"Come on, Luigi," she smiled again, taking his hand. "We might not see each other for a while after this."

He looked up, and saw the sincerity in her eyes - she wasn't making fun of him. And if she was an awful dancer too... then maybe it would be worth it.

After all, he had always imagined this kind of moment happening.

"Oh. Okay."

"Sweet!" She led him to the middle of the room, and they did their best to get the moves right as a slow song played. They stepped on each other's toes a lot, and Luigi almost tripped at one point, but neither seemed to care as they smiled at each other, lost in the moment.

From one of the benches, Peach watched her two best friends dancing. She was glad that they were finally doing something romantic together. She felt a twinge of envy, but she suppressed it.

At least _they_ were happy.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also, I found out recently that there are official Mario and Peach wedding plushies, and they're _adorable_! Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	17. Visit to New Donk City

**SteelFairy:** **Yeah, after all those years of Luigi crushing on her (and later, Daisy too), it was about time they started moving towards a more romantic relationship. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **HiyaItsHails:** **Yeah, I thought an argument would be realistic, since Peach was angry at everyone - Mario for going out with Pauline, Daisy for not seeing that Luigi liked her. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **ultimateCCC:** **Thank you for your review!**

 **aiai3668:** **Glad you liked it! I won't _promise_ a Mareach version, but I do have a few ideas and I might start one. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Infinite's Ruby:** **Glad you're liking it so far! Thanks for all the reviews!**

 **Thanks to Infinite's Ruby and SandovAlan for favouriting!**

* * *

It had been a few months since the party. Daisy smiled as she fondly recalled the fun she'd had that evening, as if it had happened yesterday. All of the delicious food, chatting with all the people, and most of all, Luigi. That was the night when she'd finally realised that Luigi liked her; that was what made the event so special for her.

She cringed a little at her thoughts. Since when had she become so corny? But rather than being bothered by that, she had no regrets about her growing feelings for him. It was true what they said: absence really did make the heart grow fonder.

She sighed. It was so frustrating. She and Luigi texted and spoke on the phone often - he seemed to have a lot more confidence when they weren't face to face - but she had no idea when she would see him again. At the moment Mario and Luigi were unable to visit the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland. Not that they didn't get time off, of course; they simply didn't earn enough to buy the expensive aeroplane tickets to either place, plus they had the responsibility of paying rent each month and buying food, concepts that were foreign to Princess Daisy.

She sighed again as she lay on her bed. She wished she could see them soon, especially the man in green. If only she could visit them herself...

Suddenly, a mischievous smile spread across her face, the same smile that appeared as a child when she shouldn't have been doing something but was going to do it anyway.

She'd disguise as a regular person and find the Mario brothers in New Donk City.

It wouldn't be too hard, would it? She wasn't the most well-known princess, so if she wore normal clothes and didn't draw attention towards herself, chances were people wouldn't recognise her, and if they did, she would just deny it.

She decided to ring Peach right away and ask her along too, but just before she dialled her number, she stopped. Peach might not want to come. She and Mario had grown apart, and the blonde princess was somehow more well known than Daisy - it would me much harder to blend in with the New Donkers. She put down her phone, and began to make plans for her visit.

* * *

A month later, Daisy was heading for Room 167 in Luigi's apartment block, her head buzzing from the events of that day. She had gone on a private jet for the first time, and while she wasn't afraid of heights, being _that_ high up made her feel very uneasy - what if the plane suddenly stopped in the air? Much to her relief, they had arrived in New Donk City, safe and sound.

Then came the ordeal of blending in with the grey suited, eerily identical residents of the city. She knew she stood out like a sore thumb, even if she didn't look like her regular self: her baggy jeans from high school, an oversized grey-blue jacket, her ponytail and sunglasses ensured she no longer looked like a princess. The only thought that kept her going was that if Mario and Luigi fit in here without any problems, then so could she.

Then she had to pretend her guard was her boyfriend to avoid suspicion... which involved kissing him on the cheek occasionally and holding his hand and looking right into his eyes when they spoke. She didn't mind it much - she was fairly fond of Ollie - but it still felt strange making those gestures with anyone other than Luigi. Not that they'd done much of that either, unless she counted her imagination.

But she was here. And that was all that mattered.

She rapped on the grey door, and waited. Ten seconds later, and they still hadn't opened up. She began to fret. She wasn't normally a worrier, but this strange new country was doing things to her brain. She had given them the correct date, hadn't she?

They knew she was coming, she reminded herself. They'd open the door in just a few more seconds...

The door was pushed open, and a young man dressed in overalls stood at the door, staring at her. He had a slight tan, sideburns, and a thick, black moustache. Her mouth dropped slightly in horror. Surely this was the right place? They _had_ said Room 167, hadn't they?

As she tried to make sense of the situation, something clicked in her mind. The young man... he was Luigi!

"D-Daisy?" he murmured, finally finding his voice.

"Hey Luigi!" she grinned, enveloping him into a hug. "Great to see you again! Heh..." She pulled away. "How's it going around here?"

"Oh, um, great. It's going great," he stammered, his eyes fixed on her like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Uhh... want to come in?"

"Sure!" She stepped inside, and took in her surroundings - the hallway was bare, with a few cardboard boxes in the corner. "Like the moustache, by the way." And she meant it. He'd transformed from a baby-faced graduate to a mature young man.

"Thanks," he smiled, averting his eyes and blushing. "I-I'll call Mario... Mario! Daisy's here!"

"What?"

"Daisy's here!"

"Already?" he called out. "Ah, great! I bet you're happy she came a bit earlier, aren't you Luigi? Heh heh," Mario said as he walked. Daisy giggled as Luigi's face froze and flushed even redder.

"Daisy, you're here!" Mario appeared and put his arms out for a hug, which she returned. She noticed that he had a moustache too; she wondered if they'd decided on that new look at the same time.

"Come in, Daisy!" said Mario, guiding her inside. "We don't have much, but..."

"It's fine. Wow, this place looks so different..."

It was true. The apartment room was nothing like any place she had seen before, in both Sarasaland and the Mushroom Kingdom. Small, cramped, disorganised, and with more boxes cluttering the floor - but she liked it. It was a nice change from her castle, which was always spotless from the servants' continual cleaning.

Mario led her into their small kitchen, with a chipped wooden table in the middle, surrounded by two chairs and a stool.

"Take a seat," Mario offered, about to pull out one of the chairs for her. Daisy, seeing this, grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Enough of that," she smirked as a confused look passed over Mario's face. "As far as everyone in this country is concerned, I'm just an ordinary person. No need to treat me like a princess."

Mario chuckled, and Daisy laughed too - until she noticed a small frown on Luigi's face, his eyes focused on her hand, still clutching his brother's arm. _Jealous_. Smiling to herself, she removed her hand and sat down.

Luigi had no reason to be jealous. She could never be attracted to Mario - they were too alike in some ways, and she knew they would get tired of each other after a while and besides, Mario was Pauline's man. But it was still cute how Luigi was getting paranoid about it.

Which reminded her...

"How's Pauline?" she asked.

She regretted her question when Mario's posture stiffened. He sighed heavily, and spoke.

"We broke up last week. We had a huge fight, and- It wasn't working for a long time anyway. Errr, anyway..." he said, changing the topic, "sit down Luigi! We have some pasta - I'll make us some spaghetti bolognese."

"I'll help," said Luigi.

"Not today, Luigi," he snickered. "I'm sure you'll want to spend time with Daisy." The princess watched in amusement as Luigi turned as red as Mario's sweater. Mario then took a packet of pasta from the cupboard, cutting it open and placing the contents in a pot. "How are Mamma and Papa doing? Are they okay?"

"I haven't seen them lately," Daisy admitted, wishing Mario would stop talking now. "But I'm sure they're fine."

Mario smiled and turned away to prepare the sauce. "Yeah. They ring us all the time, and I get worried about them sometimes." After a pause, he said, more seriously, "And how's Peach?"

Daisy was silent for a bit. Peach wasn't fine, no matter how many times she insisted she was. She was in the awkward mindset where she both hated and missed Mario, but the redhead wasn't about to tell him that.

"She's doing okay too," she said, hoping Mario would believe her.

"Does she talk about me?" he asked abruptly. "A-about me and Luigi, I mean."

She shrugged, though his back was turned and he couldn't see her. "Occasionally," she said, telling the truth this time.

"Tell her I asked for her," he said, staring at the bowl of pre-made tomato sauce in front of him. Then it hit her - Mario cared about Peach, and still had feelings for her. She wondered if that was part of the reason why his and Pauline's relationship hadn't worked out.

For a moment she debated telling Mario how Peach really felt, but she didn't think either of them would appreciate it being spoken about in front of Luigi. Besides, she had come here for Luigi, not to sort out her friends' love lives.

"So, Luigi," she smiled, looking at him. "How do you like it here?"

"O-oh, it's great," he said. "But we're not planning on staying here for much longer. We're going back to the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Huh?"

"He didn't tell you?" Mario interrupted. "But yeah, we're not. There's no point in staying here when I'm not with Pauline anymore - that was the whole point of me coming here. It's no big deal - we'll be closer to our friends and family." He winked at Luigi. "And you'll be closer to Daisy."

Luigi covered his face with his hands, a muffled groan making its way out from beneath his fingers.

"Really, Mario?" came the smothered reply. Daisy couldn't help chuckling - she only saw now how just much she had missed having him around. He was the polar opposite of her, with his shyness and low self-esteem, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

"You can talk," Mario laughed, raising his eyebrows. "Just pretend I'm not here."

Luigi sent a scowl his way, leaving his older twin rather taken aback - that look could be scary at times.

"Fine. I promise I won't interrupt again. In fact..." He unplugged his phone charger from the socket and inserted a pair of headphones into the device. "I'll listen to some music til the dinner's done."

"How do I know you're not _pretending_ to listen to music?" Luigi asked.

Mario gave an exaggerated sigh. "Trust me, I've better things to be doing than hearing you tell Daisy how beautiful you think she is."

And with that, he put on his headphones and left Luigi and Daisy alone.

They didn't know what to do for a few moments, looking at each other and turning away and glancing at each other again and laughing bashfully. It was going to take Daisy a long time to get used to Luigi's moustache, but at the same time, she liked it better. He had looked cute the last time she'd seen him, but now he was almost... handsome. The realisation was enough to make her feel shyer around him than normal.

"Um... hey!" she giggled, unsure of what to say.

"Heh heh... hi," Luigi smiled back. "Uhh... how's it going in Sarasaland?"

"Good, I guess. The weather's finally starting to cool down."

"Ah, heh heh! It's getting really cold here, you probably noticed already..." His voice trailed off.

"Yeah. Being here is such a nice change from Sarasaland. No royal duties, cooler weather, you get the picture."

"Ah. Well... Didn't anyone recognise you when you were trying to get here?"

"No. Apparently these disguised me well enough," she smiled, pointing at her clothes. "Especially the sunglasses. Nothing like a pair of sunglasses to look completely different, right?" She stopped; she was starting to babble from nervousness.

Luigi chuckled. Now that his initial daze was gone and Mario had stopped butting in, he didn't seem quite as shy as she remembered; the months away had done him good. But it also didn't make sense - while Luigi's confidence was growing around her, Daisy felt giddier and talked too much.

"So..." She winked, deciding to flirt with him a little. She looked behind Luigi's shoulder to see if Mario was listening, but fortunately he was oblivious, humming along to a tune on his phone. "Did you get any girlfriends while I was gone?"

"What...? No, _no_ , I - of course not," he finished, blushing and looking a little panicked.

"Why? Waiting for me?"

His eyes widened, and his mouth opened and closed as he tried to think of an answer. Daisy smiled. Maybe he was still shy after all.

"Hey, I'm just kidding!" She laughed and gave him a playful punch in the arm, and a relieved Luigi smiled back at her. He wasn't used to being flirted with; she decided not to be so blatantly obvious next time.

"And how has your job at the store been going?" she asked, reverting back to a friendly tone.

"Ah, you know, dealing with all types of customers... Not exactly my dream job, but maybe someday I can become a plumber like my Papa and do something I actually like."

"Yeah. I'd still be a till worker over a princess, though."

"Would you?" Luigi gave her a sceptical look.

"Yep. At least I could live a normal life."

"I guess." He cleared his throat. "I never asked you before... What would you be if you weren't a princess?"

"I don't know. It's not something I ever thought about. I'd do something active, I guess - like a P.E. teacher, maybe." She snorted. "Though I'd probably end up shouting at the poor kids if they annoyed me even a little." She smiled ruefully. "I gave you a hard time when we were younger, didn't I?"

"You did?"

"Don't you remember either? Toadsworth told me all about the things I did, like dragging you across the toy store and shouting at you when you wouldn't join in with whatever I wanted to do. And Dad told me that I bawled my eyes out once when you came to visit because I thought I'd killed you with my football. Turned out I only gave you a concussion."

"Oh," Luigi laughed, "I kind of remember that. I had to rest for a long time afterwards. I think that was the day you gave us your Nintendos and lots of games."

"I did?"

He nodded. "I still have mine."

"Whoa. Really?"

"Yeah. It stopped working in middle school when Mario spilled juice on it, but I still have it somewhere. I... I don't really know why I kept it..." He looked away, embarrassed.

Daisy was flattered that Luigi had kept something she'd given him for so long, when most people would have thrown it away. It made her feel warm inside, and she wondered just how long Luigi had liked her - probably since high school, or even before.

"And what about our first day in elementary school?" she said, giving him another wink. "Remember I made you go to the big kids' yard with me?"

"And you saw Wario and called him fat, and he got mad at us?" Luigi chuckled. "I had nightmares for about a week."

"And we got into trouble with Miss... Lauren?"

"Laura. That was scary, but I don't think she was really cross with us."

"No. And what about the time Waluigi destroyed your painting, and Miss Laura ended up liking it better?"

"I'm not sure, I think I remember that..."

"And speaking of Waluigi..." Daisy said, a slow smirk spreading across her face. "What about the time I gave you a Valentine's card?"

"Ah no, Daisy," Luigi said, covering his face again. But this time, she could hear the smile in his voice, and was encouraged to continue.

"I think you should return the favour next February," she said. The tips of his ears were puce, and she felt her heart beat a little faster - sometimes, he was too adorable for his own good. "And I expect you to go all out, so a card won't be enough this time."

He took his hands off his face and smiled shyly, deciding to play along. "A card... and flowers?"

She shook her head. "That would be nice, but it's not enough." She leaned over the table, and gazed deep into his eyes. "I expect this too."

She brushed her lips against his for a second, shutting her eyes; when she opened them again and reluctantly pulled back, he was staring at her and breathing fast, his face scarlet. His eyes suddenly seemed a more piercing shade of blue, and she found herself unable to drag her focus away from them. What was happening...?

A loud cough brought her out of her daze; to her mortification, Mario was resting against the counter, headphones out, arms crossed and a smirk on his round face.

"I - I thought you were cooking," she stammered. She had forgotten Mario was even there - it seemed so cliched, but it had felt as if she and Luigi were the only two people in the room.

"I was waiting for the pasta to cook," he said. "And... I don't suppose you remember the time you kissed Luigi on the mouth, Daisy? When we were kids, not now."

It was Daisy's turn to blush. "I did not!" she said. Had she really done that?

"You did," Mario nodded. "We were playing wedding at your castle and you and Luigi were getting married."

"Oh no, please tell me you're kidding..." she whined, turning to Luigi. Unfortunately, he was grinning too.

"And I'm sure Luigi enjoyed it then just as much as now, didn't you bro?" Mario laughed.

"How long were you listening anyway?" she asked.

"Since you started talking about the card."

Daisy cringed at what Mario had heard, but she supposed she only had herself to blame. It wasn't wise to say and do such things while Luigi's brother was standing a couple of metres away from them. She felt highly uncomfortable - she wondered what it must be like for Luigi, feeling like this multiple times a day.

When the dinner was ready, Mario set the table. He placed some bolognese into each of the three bowls, and poured water into the cups. He seated himself on the stool, and tucked into his meal. He peered over the rim of his bowl, anxiously awaiting Daisy's reaction.

She put the spoon to her lips and tasted it. She blinked. She blinked again. She tilted her head to the side.

"Is it okay?" Mario said, unable to stand the suspense. Personally he thought it was good, but what if Daisy disliked it? After all of the trouble she had taken to get here, he didn't want to disappoint her in the food department.

"It's... fantastic!" she said, downing another spoonful. "Wow. Where did you learn to cook like this, Mario?"

"Eh... Mamma taught me," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "So it's okay?"

"Okay? This is delicious! It's better than anything I've eaten at home! Remind me to visit more often when you move back!"

Luigi couldn't hide a small smile at the comment.

"When exactly are you coming back, anyway?"

"In one or two months' time. Did anything change while we were gone, Daisy?"

"No Mario, it's much the same as it used to be."

"That's good."

"Do your parents know you're going back?"

"Oh yeah, they do."

"Will you be moving back in with them?"

"Until we find our own place."

"Do they mind?"

"Hey, I know we're annoying, but we're not that bad! I'm sure they'll _tolerate_ us," Mario laughed. Daisy smirked back, and continued eating her dinner. Once or twice, she caught Luigi watching her as he ate. He looked down sharply the first time, but smiled the second time, lowering his gaze timidly.

She was really going to miss him when she returned to Sarasaland.

When they finished eating, Mario put all of the bowls, cups and cutlery into the dishwasher, and rubbed his hands off his dungarees.

"Well..." Daisy uttered with a twinge of regret, "I'd better get going now. It's really late - I need to check in at my hotel."

"You're going already?" said Mario, disappointment evident in his voice - and in his brother's face. "Are you sure you don't want to stay overnight? We don't have any spare beds, but we have a couch - it's comfy enough."

Daisy shook her head. "It's fine. You've done so much for me already - I wouldn't want to be an inconvenience."

"You sounded a bit like Peach there," Mario said, an odd smile playing on his lips.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. More mannerly than usual, I guess." His eyes were glazed, with an equally strange expression on his face. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something else, but changed his mind, regretting what he had already blurted out.

"Must be from all the time I'm spending with her," Daisy joked, not caring for the way this conversation was going - Mario was acting weird, and she was very proud of her tomboy status. The last thing she wanted was to be compared to her girly cousin.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Luigi asked her.

"No, no, it's fine. I'd just mess up the place. It's not like we won't be seeing each other again soon, right?" _Just not soon enough,_ she thought.

"Well, have a safe flight home," Mario said, opening out his arms. She gave him a hug, having to bend down due to the height difference. She moved onto Luigi, keeping her eyes locked on his; she put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder for a bit. Through his sweater, she could feel his rapid heartbeat.

"See you soon, Luigi," she murmured against his ear, enjoying the feel of his hair. She pulled away - a wide eyed Luigi was staring at her in astonishment. She loved affecting him this way; she wondered if he knew the effect he had on her too.

"Well... See you," she said as Mario unlocked the door. She stepped out, putting on her sunglasses, and waved behind her, her gaze lingering on Luigi.

His smile was the last thing she saw before they shut the door, imprinted in her mind for weeks to come.

* * *

Luigi stood in the hallway, his gaze fixed on the door in front of him, but his thoughts focused on Daisy. He couldn't comprehend how the redheaded tomboy he used to play with as a child had so much power to mess with his mind; how her proximity left him feeling a little disorientated; how he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off her; how everything she did drew him closer and closer to her.

Meanwhile, Mario was inwardly laughing at his brother. Trust Luigi to make an idiot of himself in front of the girl he liked - though he wasn't _quite_ as bad as usual, and Daisy didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, she seemed more smitten with him than he remembered.

"Luigi?" he said, nudging him in the ribs. "Are you okay?"

Luigi jumped, his head snapping to the side.

"You can go back in now," Mario smirked.

But Luigi didn't smile back. "Mario?" he asked in a worried tone.

"Yes? What is it?"

Luigi turned away, his cheeks flushed. "Uhh, do... D-do you think Daisy really likes me? Or does she just like making a fool out of me?"

Mario stared at him for a few seconds, before throwing his head back and laughing.

"What? What did I say?" Luigi frowned. "Mario?"

Mario calmed down, sighed and shook his head. "Ah, Luigi. For someone so smart, you ask the most stupid questions sometimes!"

"But... But..." Mario was already heading for the sitting room. "Where are you going?"

"Watching T.V.," he called out.

"But I just want to know if Daisy likes me!"

"Isn't it obvious? Figure it out, genius."

And with that he turned up the volume, leaving an even more confused Luigi in the hallway.

* * *

 **Phew, that was the longest chapter so far, and it took me ages to (re)write! Also, I didn't think the Mario bros would have become plumbers straight after leaving school, hence the reference to Luigi working behind a till. Also I have no idea how to cook, so I hope the scene where Mario makes spag bol was accurate. Hope you liked it!**


	18. The Brave Coward

**hubworld33:** **Yes, Luigi and Daisy did meet in person for the first time in _Mario Tennis_ (though there is a cameo of both of them together in _Mario Golf_ ). This fanfic is just what I think would have happened if they'd grown up together. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **aiai3668:** **Yeah, I found it slightly creepy that everyone looks very similar! (Not complaining about the game or anything, _Odyssey_ is fantastic!) Thanks for reviewing!**

 **Steel Fairy:** **Thank you for your review!**

 **Infinite's Ruby:** **Glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing!**

 **ultimateCCC:** **Daisy's mother died, but her father is alive. Thanks for your review!**

 **El incgnito xd:** **Here's the next chapter and thanks for reviewing!**

 **Thanks to Cyan Quartz and Mickinator for following and favouriting, and Trainman4 for favouriting!**

* * *

It was all over the news.

One moment Peach had been baking a cake in her castle. A minute later, a monstrous creature driving a Clown Car - King Bowser Koopa of Dark Land - smashed the kitchen window and carried her off to his castle. Toadsworth was frantic - he insisted that if he had been younger, he would have rescued her himself, but being as old as he was, he was offering a reward of a thousand gold coins to anyone who would get her back. So far, nobody had volunteered.

All of that happened three days after Mario and Luigi had returned to the Mushroom Kingdom.

The twins visited Daisy's castle the day after the story came out, to discuss how they might free her.

"The Mushroom Kingdom is full of Goombas, Daisy," Luigi shuddered. "Full of Goombas, and Koopa Troopas..."

Daisy scowled. Peach made every effort to keep her kingdom looking beautiful, and now it was getting trampled on by Bowser's disgusting minions? For shame!

"And we know Bowser wants to marry Peach, so he can take over her kingdom."

"Ew." Daisy pulled a face, before looking concerned. "We have to get her out of there as fast as we can. But how?"

Mario's shoulders were slumped. "I don't know. But she can't stay there."

"I think we should defeat Bowser's minions first, so it's easier to reach Bowser's castle," Daisy suggested. "As many as we can, anyway. There are blocks all over the kingdom; if they knock us down, at least we'll have power-ups, and, most importantly, 1-ups."

"But how will we get Peach back home?"

"That's going to be tough. He'll have minions around his castle, so we should definitely defeat those too..." She sighed. "I don't know anymore where we're even going with this. I think we should head for Dark Land Castle and accumulate as many power-ups and lives as we can, and hope for the best. Besides... it's not like we have that much time to think of a better plan."

"And if we can't defeat King Koopa?"

Daisy sighed again. "At least we die trying."

Mario pondered on this for a second. "We have to risk it."

"Are you crazy?" an incredulous Luigi interjected. "We can't do that! I-isn't there any other way?"

"We don't know much about how Bowser works, Luigi," said Mario. "And like Daisy said, there's no time to come up with something better. We have to save her before he marries her. I've done something like this before with Pauline, anyway."

"That was an ape!" Luigi exclaimed. "We're not trying to save someone from a zoo animal, we're talking about taking down an insane giant turtle who breathes fire!"

"He breathes... fire?" said Mario, his eyes widening.

"They said it on the news."

"Mamma mia..."

"We have to risk it!" Daisy insisted, repeating Mario's words. "We can't sit here while Peach is forced to marry the guy who kidnapped her." She looked directly at Mario as she said this. She knew that reminding him that someone else was about to marry his childhood crush might be the motivation he needed.

Mario hardly hesitated before giving a determined nod. "Okey dokey. Let's-a go!"

"When? Now?" a visibly trembling Luigi squeaked. "B-b-but I haven't had time to mentally prepare for this... Are we even strong enough to take Bowser down?"

Mario glanced at his protruding stomach, and frowned. "If I had the chance to work out before this, Luigi, I would have. Sadly this wasn't something we could have predicted. But that doesn't matter now." He placed his hands on his brother's shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. "We're fast runners, Luigi. Sure, maybe we could be even faster if we exercised, but we're good enough. And we were the highest jumpers in our high school P.E. class - especially you! I'm not forcing you into this, but it'd be a great help if you could join me. I know you don't want to do this, but think about it. If I get hurt, you'll be there to help me out. In fact, I'm more likely to die if you're not there, since I'll be left alone with whatever injuries I get."

He paused for a moment, and glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Look, Luigi, I'll give you a few minutes to decide. It's your choice, but it'd mean a lot if you came. Together we'll probably do well, but me, alone... I'm not sure. Think of the Princess, Luigi."

"Wait," Daisy interrupted. "You won't be alone. I'm going too. Right?"

Mario looked at her sadly. "I don't think that would be a good idea, Daisy."

"Why not? I'm fast too. I don't mind getting my hands dirty. I'm a girl, but I'm pretty strong."

Mario shook his head. "You can't. You're still recovering from that sprained ankle you got last week. We can't have any unnecessary injuries."

Daisy cursed mentally. Stupid ankle! Why couldn't she have been more careful when she was playing basketball?

"So I'd be a burden?" Daisy continued desperately. "I wouldn't hold you back... You can just leave me if something happens! I don't mind!"

Mario looked away, and Luigi turned pale at the very suggestion.

"We could, but we wouldn't," said Mario. "And I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but..." He cleared his throat. "Your dad already lost his wife."

Daisy gave a sober nod. Mario was right. She couldn't leave her father. Her death would destroy the strength he had left.

"But what about you?" she said. "Don't _your_ lives matter to you at all?"

"Mine does," Luigi said, his eyes suspiciously wet.

"Of course," said Mario, "but Peach's life matters too. Look, if I die, I die happy. I die knowing that I did my best, and that somebody else - Luigi, or you, even - might rescue her. But if I don't try, I'll never forgive myself, and Peach will be at the mercy of a monster. And I'd rather die than know I let that happen because I was a coward."

Daisy gaped at him in surprise. For a start, it was the deepest speech she had even heard coming out of his mouth, and second, if that didn't show how much he cared about Peach, she didn't know what did. He didn't even seem to care about the reward he would get.

She hoped Mario and Peach would try to at least be friends again, if this mission succeeded.

"C-can I please think about this first?" Luigi pleaded, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I won't be long, I p-promise."

Mario replied with a nod.

"Actually... Mario, would you mind giving us a minute alone?" Daisy asked him.

"Sure. I'll wait outside the castle. Let me know as soon as you're done."

"Okay."

As Mario headed for the entrance, Luigi wiped his tears away with his sleeve. He could have kicked himself for letting his emotions get to him in front of Daisy. Yes, she had seen him cry before - when he was a child. He was an adult. He shouldn't be so cowardly.

Daisy wouldn't think much of him now. Mario always insisted that she liked him back, but he couldn't see how. With the way he was acting, Daisy would probably fall for Mario, or some other guy who didn't weep like a baby.

"Luigi?" Daisy said softly. He almost looked up in surprise. Daisy rarely sounded so... nice. She normally said everything in a loud voice.

Great. Now she felt sorry for him.

"Luigi. Look at me."

No, he didn't dare. He didn't want to see whatever expression of pitying disgust she had on her face.

She placed a hand under his chin, tilting his head upwards. There was no pity or disdain in the way she was looking at him. Strange.

"You can do this, Luigi," she told him seriously.

Luigi laughed and turned away. "Are you kidding?"

Daisy shook her head. "I'm not. I know you can do it."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Luigi shrugged. "I just - I can't. I'm... I'm scared, Daisy, what do you think? I'm not, I don't know, Mr Macho who's going to save the world! I'm a coward, Daisy." He stared at his hands and sighed. "You probably think I'm pathetic."

"Luigi-"

"What kind of person doesn't want to save one of their best friends?" he continued. "What kind of person would leave their brother go on a dangerous mission alone?" He shut his eyes. "I'm a terrible person, Daisy. I shouldn't have to think about this - I should be like Mario and want to do it."

Daisy shook her head, and laughed a little. Luigi mistook her reaction for scorn, and lowered his gaze in shame.

"Are you serious?" she said.

Luigi swallowed hard. What a horrible thing he had admitted to. Why did he have to go and open his big mouth?

Then, she cupped his face in her hands; her touch was too affectionate. She'd slap his cheek any moment now...

"Do you really think Mario's not scared?" she asked him in a serious tone.

"Well..." He was lost for words for a moment. "No. I mean, he wanted to go... right?"

"He did," she nodded. "But think about it, Luigi. He's fighting a monster ten times his size and twenty times stronger. It's not obvious, but I know Mario well enough to see that he isn't confident about saving Peach."

Luigi thought about it, and the more he did so, the more he realised that Daisy was right. Compared to how he'd looked when he had to save Pauline from Donkey Kong, Mario _was_ less sure of himself this time around, with his weak smiles and constant words of self-encouragement.

But Mario was still going to face his fears. And Luigi wasn't.

"You can do this, Luigi," she said again.

"But what if I die...?"

"If you have enough power ups and one-ups at hand, you'll be okay. Just hit as many blocks as you can and you'll live. You should be fine." She paused. "When we spoke about dying there, it's... it's just in case the worst happens, just to prepare ourselves for that possibility. But I doubt anything bad will happen. As long as you take a 1-up mushroom right away when - _if -_ you get injured, you'll be fine. That's what Mario means when he says it's better if you're there with him. It'll be fine, Luigi. I promise."

"Are you saying that to make me feel better?"

"Don't you trust me? After everything we've gone through?"

Luigi gave her a small smile. "Can you blame me for not trusting you?"

Daisy chuckled a little. "Okay, maybe I wasn't the most trustworthy kid." Her smirk faded. "But I've changed. And I mean what I say. I want you to be brave, Luigi."

"Of course you do," he said bitterly. "No one wants to hang around with a wuss."

"What? No Luigi, that's not what I meant."

A doubtful Luigi raised an eyebrow.

"I know you don't believe in me," she said, "but you can do it. I want you to face your fears - for _yourself_ , not for me. And if you ever feel scared, Mario will be there to get you through it. I want you to try this, Luigi."

"Why are you so desperate for me to do this?" he asked. It was very odd how his best friend and - dare he say it? - his - _maybe_ \- his future girlfriend, was trying to force him into a dangerous adventure.

Daisy stared straight into his eyes. "Because I know you'll regret it if you don't."

Again, he was startled by Daisy's ability to see right through the Mario brothers. He would regret it, he would, of course he would. He couldn't live his life as the wimpy twin brother, the one who refused to rescue the Princess because he valued his own life more than Peach's.

Something flipped in his brain.

He wasn't going to be a coward. He was going to try his hardest to save the Princess. He would be positive and face every challenge that came his way, even if he was a pessimist by nature.

He could do it. He could.

And he would.

Daisy saw something shift in his eyes, and smiled.

"So you're going to do it?"

He nodded, slowly, reluctantly, and his decision was made. He wasn't going to turn back.

She hugged him tightly, to the point that Luigi was struggling to breathe - though a part of him enjoyed being that close to her.

"I knew you'd do it!" she grinned.

"You - you did?"

"Of course. You are brave - you just needed to find that part of yourself." She kissed him lightly on the forehead, and let him go.

"Good luck," she smiled as he stood up from the couch. "And please... don't die."

He smiled at Daisy's rather dark joke, feeling more confident after her pep talk. "I'll try not to."

"But... just in case you don't make it back..."

She got up, the look in her eyes intensifying, pupils dilating, her gaze momentarily migrating to his lips, and clasped her hands around his neck. Luigi could do nothing except stare back at her, swirls of ocean blue consuming him, hypnotising him.

She moved her head slowly towards his, and Luigi wondered through his mental haze if she could hear his heartbeat, pounding at twice its normal rate. Their faces were almost touching, mere inches between them, and it was then that Luigi realised she was about to kiss him - properly, not a peck on the lips. He felt so much panic, because he had no experience, but at the same time there was so much anticipation, excitement, wonder.

She tilted her head, just as he was moving his, and they ended up bumping each other's noses. Luigi's face heated up more than it was already, but Daisy giggled, and he smiled too... and then, she fitted her mouth perfectly onto his. He didn't know what to do, but that was fine, because Daisy was confident, she knew what she was doing, somewhat anyway, and... All thoughts dissipated as he felt his stress levels lower, until all he could concentrate on was the feel of her soft lips, the way she ran her gloved hands through his hair, all he could focus on was Daisy, and savouring the moment...

Then it was over, and she pulled away gently, smirking slightly as a red faced, mind-blown Luigi gawped at her, still reeling from the shock.

"Just in case," she murmured, as she leaned in for another kiss. But she had no doubts about his return home.

That was just an excuse to kiss him.

* * *

 **Hopefully this chapter was good enough. First of all, I'm sure the 1-ups don't cure everything - in this particular fanfic, the 1-up mushrooms can cure most injuries** **so long as they're used quickly _,_ and as long as you're not quite dead yet? I don't know if that makes sense, but hopefully it doesn't detract from the plot.**

 **Also, the kiss scene was greatly improved from the original draft but since kisses aren't something I write in detail about all that often, I hope it wasn't a) badly described or b) too perfect (considering neither of them have kissed properly before, not to mention Luigi's shyness). Please let me know what you thought!**


	19. Rainbow Road

**Over 100 reviews! Woohoo! Also this fanfic is over a year old! Double woohoo!  
That said, hi! I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas; and I'm so glad my motivation for updating fanfics returned. Sorry about updating so late and hope you enjoy the latest chapter!  
By the way, the Rainbow Road described in this chapter is the SNES one, but the items used are from DS.**

 **Thanks to Oderus, The Silver Bandit, Firegirl19, Ilovebooks1234, Electrikitty, conkerkos, LRDrummer and JohnsonKid26 for following and favouriting!**

 **Also many thanks to aiai3668, Steel Fairy, Derick Lindsey, sammy, Colorful and Free, Guest and Electrikitty for reviewing! Your opinions mean a lot to me. Unfortunately I will not be answering reviews personally anymore as for a start it takes up a lot of space and second, it's sometimes hard to come up with something better than "glad you liked it and thanks for reviewing"; it's also hard not to repeat what I already said in another response. I will still thank all reviewers in the A/N and hopefully this decision isn't seen as a bad change.**

* * *

Since the day Mario had organised a kart race on Rainbow Road, Daisy had fallen in love with the infamous racing track. She greatly enjoyed the thrill of driving around a course with no barriers, and victory felt all the more sweet when she managed to beat all of her opponents. She didn't think her friends really needed to know how much she had practised on it since then - she wouldn't even admit to herself how many hours, but she was well aware that it was borderline obsessive.

But today she felt different. She couldn't really tell how much she had improved if she didn't compare her skill to someone else's. Mario would be the obvious choice - after all, he was the one who organised those races. But she hadn't spoken to Luigi in a week, not to mention that well over half a year had passed since she had discovered his feelings for her, yet they weren't going out - at least, not technically.

She intended to change that tonight. What was stopping her anyway? It wasn't like she was scared of rejection or anything - definitely not that!

* * *

"Are you sure you're up for this?" she shouted over the roar of the engine.

Luigi smiled and nodded confidently. After all of the daredevil activities Daisy had forced him into, this one was relatively tame, and anyway, Lakitu would be there to catch him if he fell of the road.

The countdown sounded off, and both competitors raced at top speed as they tried to outdo each other. They may have been harbouring romantic feelings, but that didn't mean they were going to go easy on each other. Even Luigi's competitive side was showing as he aimed green shells at Daisy's kart ahead, threw a red shell and when all of that failed to work, used a mushroom to knock her off course. Luigi grinned and waved as an unimpressed princess was picked up by Lakitu, but he knew by her determined pout that she would get him back.

He had seen that look too many times as a child.

Meanwhile, the green plumber was right to be suspicious - Daisy was not going to let him win. She had a trick up her sleeve that would affect him more than a blue shell, she was sure of it.

Luigi always became embarrassed when she flirted with him even a little - though she knew he liked it, provided she didn't go overboard. Usually she did it because she enjoyed watching his reaction, but now, she would use it as her ticket to victory.

Luigi was on his guard - in the distance, he was holding three bananas behind his kart as protection against red shells. But if luck was on her side, she might get a Bullet Bill in the next item box, or a...

Blue shell. Perfect!

She flung it in the air, watching with glee as it paused above Luigi and hit him, sending him flying in the air. The time it took for him to recover enabled the redhead to catch up, with the help of a mushroom to boost her speed. She laughed as she surpassed him, and seizing her chance to ruin any possibility of Luigi winning, turned around, flipped her hair in a manner intended to disorientate him and blew him a kiss. She resisted the desire to see how he was reacting, and concentrated on the race once more - though she received her answer within seconds.

Poor Luigi was left feeling stunned, his heart beating much faster than it had been before. In his state he failed to notice that he was approaching a bend, and by the time he frantically tried to turn the wheel, it was too late.

A high pitched scream reached Daisy's ears as she approached the finish line, ending the third lap and making her the winner. She jerked in her seat with shock, and when she stopped her kart and got out, she looked behind her to see Lakitu putting Luigi down on the road, his face dark red with humiliation. She could only stare at him as he drove towards the end. She had expected him to become distracted, but to fall off the road? Never!

A hysterical laugh threatened to make its way out of her throat, and the only thing stopping her from releasing it was the fact that Luigi felt abashed enough as it was. There was a fine line between making someone pleasantly embarrassed and making them uncomfortable, and she didn't care to cross it.

As Luigi joined Daisy at the finish line a quarter of a minute later, he could hardly meet her gaze. Of course, this was the sort of thing that would happen to him and him only. After the way she had kissed him before he'd went to rescue Peach, he would have thought that her blowing a kiss wouldn't affect him much, if at all. But it did, oh, it did; everything Daisy did left him feeling less level headed than normal, no matter how small or insignificant.

He just had to accept that he had fallen for her badly - and literally.

"That was a good race!" Daisy stated, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You should have won that, by the way."

Luigi stared at her in surprise. Was Daisy _admitting_ that he was the true winner? Princess Daisy, one of the worst losers he knew? Was he dreaming? If he was, that would explain a lot of things - like why he was acting like a lovesick idiot, for example. He was used to being clumsy, but _that_ was a whole new level.

"And I'm sorry for doing that," she smiled. "You know how I am."

He stared at the rainbow pavement below him, focusing on one of the stripes for lack of anything else to do to relieve him of his misery - the orange one, which didn't help matters at all.

"It's fine," he mumbled.

"So, you know..." He tore his gaze away from the ground, and looked at her face. She was still smiling, but her eyes had a more serious expression. "If you're not too mad at me," she raised an eyebrow, "we could start, you know."

She played with her hair, and licked her lips. If Luigi didn't know her better, he would have thought she was nervous.

"We could start dating," she said finally.

Luigi could do nothing but gawp at her. After all of the times he had disgraced himself, punching the guy who had treated her badly and becoming almost mute around her and crying in front of her and falling off Rainbow Road for a ridiculous reason, Daisy still wanted to date him, Luigi Francesco Mario?

"I understand if you're not ready," she said, some of the joy draining from her face. "It's just... We've liked each other for a good amount of time now - at least I did, anyway - and I thought it was time we started going out, properly going out, I mean. But I don't mind either way, I mean, it's your choice, I'm not forcing you into anything," she babbled, beginning to panic slightly. Had she flirted with him for nothing? What if he had recently gone off her? What if he'd met someone else she wasn't aware of? She knew he had liked her before, but what if things had changed without her knowing? What if he now only saw her as a friend?

"Oh, yeah," Luigi responded.

"Um... so what do you think?"

"Oh, uhh..." How could he answer her without sounding too eager, like he had been waiting years for this to happen, which he had? "Uhh, yeah, of course. I - I t-think we should too."

"Really?" Her face lit up, and she placed a hand on her chest, a relieved laugh escaping from her lips. "Wow, for a second I thought you were going to say no!"

"Uhh... Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. You were really quiet. Anyway," she grinned, putting her arm around him, "how does it feel to have a girlfriend?"

"Oh, um, haha..." he chuckled, having no idea what to say. He couldn't believe this was happening - it was too surreal. For years - since he had been a scrawny pre-teen doing his best to survive middle school, in fact - he had envisioned his favourite princess asking him out - in the cafe, at the back of the school building, at the local park, in every suitable place he could think of. And now here he was, strolling down Rainbow Road, holding Daisy's hand, watching the shooting stars and making wishes, kissing when they were halfway around.

Not for the first time, he wondered whether this really was a dream, another fantasy to add to his collection of infatuation-induced hopes.

But if it was, he never wanted to wake up.

* * *

 **Hope you liked it! A nice lighthearted chapter before things start to go a little wrong for Luigi and Daisy in the next chapter. I won't say anymore - though of course there'll be no breakups. Don't think I'm spoiling much there.  
Also, am I the only one who hates using mushrooms on ALL Rainbow Roads? I end up falling off a lot of the times. And the worst thing is, you have to use it in order to get other items.  
Of course, I also don't know Luigi's real middle name, so I just made one up.  
And finally, I know it's probably not the greatest chapter, but I'm honestly sick of using cafes as a meeting place, whether it be romantic or platonic - so I wanted to be a little more creative.  
Please review and let me know what you thought!**


	20. It Was Only A Kiss

**Thanks to conkerkos for following, and also to Colorful and Free, aiai3668, TheGameNguyener, Infinite's Ruby, ultimateCCC, Steel Fairy and HiyaItsHails for reviewing! Also, please don't panic too much with this chapter.  
**

* * *

It was only a kiss, a small peck on the cheek. But from the way everyone was reacting, it was like they had gone much further.

Princess Daisy had been kidnapped for the first time - and hopefully the last, since she had no desire to become like Peach. Tatanga had invaded her country, and kept her trapped for what felt like days, and when somebody - Mario - had finally come to get her out, she had been so grateful that she had hugged him tightly, yelled "thank you" at least five times and kissed him on the cheek. It had been an expression of gratitude, relief at being out of there at last, but somehow - she had no idea who it could have been - rumour got out that Mario and Daisy had been passionately kissing each other at the castle and were only with Peach and Luigi, respectively because they were the closest they could get to each other.

Daisy's cheeks had burned with shame when she had first heard what people were saying about them. She had never thought of Mario as more than a friend, but the idea that others were saying she did was very embarrassing.

But when her cousin and boyfriend heard the gossip, the situation went from bad to worse. After a series of kidnappings Peach and Mario had become a couple again, but now things were even nastier than they had been when Mario was with Pauline. She couldn't stand the wounded looks Luigi gave her on the rare moments they spoke these days; the man in green made every attempt to avoid her.

Mario seemed to be the only friend she had left, the only one who understood. Even he wouldn't talk to her too much - he was afraid of hurting Luigi and Peach again, not to mention what would happen if the town gossips saw them together.

She felt so alone.

She knew that this couldn't go on for any longer. It was ridiculous how she had lost Peach's friendship and Luigi's trust due to a misunderstanding. So she phoned him, asking him to come to her castle to have a little talk.

With the way he was taking the rumours, it could go either way.

When Luigi showed up, his eyes were red-rimmed, like he had been crying. But she hardened her heart. He should know better than to think she would ever cheat on him, or anyone for that matter.

"Hi," she greeted him coolly.

He mumbled a greeting before sitting down on her couch. Daisy noticed how far apart they were, and her heart sank.

"We need to talk about me and Mario," she said, getting straight to the point and clasping her hands in front of her. "I don't know how that story got out, but it didn't happen. Okay, sure, I did kiss him, that part's true - but only on the cheek. Nothing more."

Luigi gave her a sad, disbelieving look, before turning away. He had barely gone in the door, and already Daisy could feel her temper rising.

"Luigi. I didn't kiss him - not like that. I didn't. You hear me?" When he still wouldn't look at her, she put two hands on either side of his head, and pulled it up more roughly than she had intended, forcing him to look into her eyes. "I didn't do it, Luigi! It's all lies. All I did was hug him and kiss his cheek. That's all. Besides, Peach kisses you on the nose, and do I get suspicious? No! Get over it, Luigi. None of those rumours are true."

"How can you prove that?" he asked quietly. "How can I know you _didn't_ do more than that? How can I know you're not with me just because I'm the closest thing to Mario?" His tone turned bitter. "After all, I'm not exactly the type of guy all the girls want. _Mario_ got lucky that way. You could have anyone you wanted and you chose me...? I mean, why me?"

Daisy released him and dragged a hand down her face. At this rate, if Luigi kept thinking the way he was now... she would get nowhere.

"Yeah, because going out with you for that reason would definitely work out in the long run. Thought you were smarter than that, Luigi."

"Smart guys can still get cheated on," Luigi replied sadly, looking down once more.

"Please! If I didn't like you I'd have told you so. I'm not perfect, but I do have standards!"

"But how can I know that?"

"Oh, I don't know, because we're going out for - what is it? - five months? And we've been best friends practically all our lives? But that doesn't matter, does it? Doesn't that prove anything to you?" She growled in frustration. "You're an idiot, Luigi. An absolute idiot. Do you even realise how insecure you sound?"

"The whole town is saying you love each other, Daisy. What else do you want me to believe? It happens all the time. The boyfriend is always the last to know."

She laughed scornfully. "Yeah. Believe the whole town, believe all of the gossips who tell lies fifty percent of the time before me. Good decision, Luigi! You deserve a medal, a gold star, a trophy!" Her voice became higher with every word. "Round of applause for Luigi! Woohoo! Let's give you a big pat on the back while we're at it!"

Luigi's eyebrows were drawn in, and his eyes blazed with anger, an emotion different to the deep disappointment and agony he had felt since the story came out.

"I think I'm being perfectly reasonable," he said, not entirely sure if that was true.

"Oh, you do, do you? Well, I think I'm being perfectly reasonable too! The person who's supposed to trust me the most, doesn't. I think that's worse than kissing my _friend_ on the _cheek_ \- but each to their own!"

"Cheating is terrible too!"

"It is! Now, aren't you lucky I didn't do that, Luigi?" she said sweetly.

"But I've no way of knowing that! Why _wouldn't_ you like Mario? It's not like -"

"Besides, if you wanted a kiss so badly," she sneered, "why didn't you show up when I needed you?"

Luigi was momentarily stunned, like he had been slapped, but his furious expression returned. "Didn't my brother tell you? I had a bad flu. My head hurt so much I couldn't get out of bed and I had a high fever." His tone softened as he spoke the next words. "I wanted to save you, Daisy."

But the fight had gone on for too long, and his lack of trust felt like blow after blow to her stomach; so, instead of calming down, she felt more riled up than ever. She snorted.

"Wait. You didn't save me because you had the flu? The _flu_?"

"Trust me, Daisy, it's worse than it sounds -"

"Trust me, he says. After everything he said about me. Remind me to add "hypocrite" to my list of your flaws," she said, trembling.

"I am not a hypocrite!" he said, raising his voice. Daisy stared at him - she hadn't seen Luigi like this in a long time.

"Yes you are!" she spat, recovering from the shock. "So tell me. You stayed at home in your nice warm bed while your mommy made you tea and brought up homemade cookies to your room, while I was stuck in a cage with no assurance that I'd be okay. How heartwarming! Oh, and while Mario was running through foreign lands to search for me! So even if I did kiss Mario _that_ way, which I didn't, can you honestly blame me? No, you can't!"

"I wanted to save you!"

"Sure you did!" she yelled, standing up and crossing her arms.

"Look who has trust issues now!" Luigi said, standing up also.

"Do you even realise how much I suffered there?" she said, rare tears forming in her eyes. "Thinking a tyrannical alien was going to take over my kingdom and marry me? I thought about you all the time, and this is how you thank me?"

She stopped and blinked away the tears, ignoring the look of guilt on Luigi's face. Now, all she wanted to do was hurt him like he was hurting her - to pick on one of his sore spots, the one person who, more so than even Bowser, brought out the worst in him to this day.

"You know what, Luigi?" she said. "Maybe I should have stayed with Waluigi that time. He was more of a man than you'll ever be."

Luigi went bright red, his brow clearing slowly. He stared at Daisy for a bit, then looked away, clenching his fists. Daisy's gaze was stone-cold as she watched him. She had just insulted him in the worst way possible and she had no regrets.

"Just remember who punched him in high school," he muttered weakly.

"In a rare moment of masculinity," she snorted - though a little voice in her brain told her she was going much too far.

Luigi's jaw tightened; then, he turned on his heel and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Have fun with my brother," he said, his voice shaking.

"Ha. Have fun living with your mommy all your life!" she shouted, but he had already slammed the door. She sunk into the couch, listening to her breaths and feeling her heart pounding. She pressed her hands to her face, and tried to soothe herself, with no success. Now that Luigi was gone, she felt empty, like an important part of her life had left her.

Her own mother used to warn her about doing this kind of thing, before she had died. She would tell Daisy to watch her temper, lest it got her into trouble with others - especially those she loved. She used to calm her down when she got mad - whether it be her own fault or someone else's - and then give her a lecture about thinking before speaking, before acting.

But Luigi didn't trust her. She pushed all thoughts of Queen Rose away. Luigi thought that little of her. He stayed at home because of a little cold.

"Mama's boy," she said under her breath. She was better off without him and his paranoia, anyway. Nevertheless, she threw her arms down on the armrest and wept loudly.

* * *

Luigi tried hard not to cry as he got inside the driver seat of his parents' car and headed away from the castle. It was over, he was sure of it. She knew how much he despised Waluigi - she would never have made that comment if she didn't want to break up with him. Girls didn't stay with insecure men, they wanted confidence - especially someone like Daisy who exuded it. And confidence was a virtue he would never possess.

The truth was, he believed in Daisy. But his brain kept reminding him of how shy he was, how cowardly, how clumsy, and he couldn't see why she wouldn't have fallen for his brave, heroic brother after he had saved her, while Luigi was sick at home. She probably thought he had faked it, when, despite his tendency to shy away from dangerous situations, he would have done everything in his power to get her back to safety. But Mario had said that there was no sense in a flu-struck Luigi saving Daisy when Mario could do it himself - Luigi's adventuring skills would be erratic, and he was only putting himself in danger.

It figured. _Of course_ Mario would want to have Daisy all to himself. And it was because of Mario that he had caught the flu in the first place, too. Images of Daisy and Mario getting married and kissing at the altar plagued his mind as he approached the Mushroom Kingdom. Why _wouldn't_ she love Mario? What made him think that Daisy could like him for who he was?

But how _he_ felt about it didn't mean Daisy was being dishonest. Just because he had a poor self-image didn't mean Daisy had cheated on him or Mario had betrayed him.

He felt a wave of nausea as the realisation hit him. He had let his own emotions take control - he had believed in what he was telling himself, rather than what Daisy was telling him. He had no proof that she was lying - yet he'd accused her over and over. He had no evidence that she was being truthful, either - he had been right there.

Unless he counted all of the things she had done for him.

Encouraging him over the phone each time he had to rescue Peach from Bowser. Telling him he was just as courageous as Mario when society said otherwise - in fact, she thought Luigi was braver since he always did what he was most afraid of. Helping Peach make him a birthday cake when she hated baking. Cheering him up when he was upset.

Never laughing at him when he acted like a big baby. Helping him face his fear of the dark. Letting him win at one of Mario's kart races so he would have one moment of fame, when he knew she detested losing.

Always being there for him, no matter what.

He groaned. He had messed everything up. Daisy would never do that to him. She was right. He shouldn't have believed the gossip over the truth.

But now she hated him, and it was too late to reverse what he had done to her.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he saw his home in the distance. He hated himself. He hated how he always jumped to the worst conclusions.

He hated being him.

* * *

Two weeks later, Daisy couldn't accept that at this point, nothing could be done for her relationship with Luigi. He hadn't rung her once, or even messaged her. He would never forgive her for something she hadn't done.

She tried to tell herself that it didn't matter. Peach was back with Mario, and Daisy had finally made up with her after a long talk - mates before dates, wasn't that what they said?

But Luigi mattered just as much as her friends, if not more. They had bickered before, but they had never verbally attacked each other like that. The wounds inflicted would last for some time, even if they forgave each other. Not that she thought that would be happening any time soon.

She sighed and shut her eyes, trying to put Luigi out of her mind; after all, thinking about him all day wasn't going to help her get over him. She may as well do something productive instead.

She jumped when the mobile phone at her bedside table rang. She checked who it was before answering, and her heart stopped when she saw it was Luigi. With shaking hands, she picked it up and put it to her ear, not knowing what to expect.

"Um... Hey," she said tentatively.

Luigi cleared his throat. " _Hi._ "

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

 _"I..."_ He paused. _"I don't know how to put this, Daisy, but... Can we talk? I'm on my way to your castle, but if you don't want to speak, tell me now."_

Daisy's breath hitched in her throat. Luigi was coming. Luigi was coming to her castle. He was coming back.

"S-sure," she said before she could think of a better answer. "I'll meet you in the hallway."

 _"See you,"_ came Luigi's answer before he hung up.

Her heartbeat was rapid as she flopped onto her bed. This could only mean one thing: Luigi was going to break up with her officially.

Looking on the bright side, at least she would know for sure that it was over.

She went downstairs and paced up and down the hallway. Her mind was numb to what was about to take place. She thought about brushing her hair a little before he arrived, but decided against it. It wouldn't make any difference to the outcome.

Minutes passed before Luigi stepped into the hallway, but when he did, she felt a little weak at the knees, a similar feeling to what one might experience when seeing a potential love interest for the first time. He was as handsome as ever, with his wide blue eyes and thick hair, just a little tint of auburn mixed with the brown.

But he also looked haggard, weary, and when he locked eyes with her, she noticed that they lacked the twinkle they had when he was happy.

Wordlessly she led him into her sitting room, the old playroom, the place where they had fought. They sat on the couch - again, she noted the gap between them - and Luigi sighed, before speaking.

"I was wrong, Daisy," he said in a small voice.

Daisy's eyebrows shot up. She hadn't expected an apology just after he had gotten inside. She nodded, prompting him to continue.

"I said things that I regret. I knew you wouldn't do that to me, I knew it deep down, and yet I treated you like that... Everyone was saying you loved each other, and I just couldn't see _why_ you wouldn't prefer Mario over me, and..." His cheeks flushed. "I... I'm sorry, Daisy."

She turned away. Of course she would forgive him - but it would take time to develop that trust again. They had both said hurtful things that had hit home and would not be forgotten easily. Luigi's apology was just the start.

"I lied when I said I should have stayed with Waluigi," she said abruptly, still not looking at him. She didn't know why she was about to say this - her date with Waluigi was not a pleasant event to remember - but if anything, it might remove some of the damage done.

"I never really told you what happened back then," she carried on. "He said... he said something about me and you."

Luigi suddenly seemed very interested when she glanced at him.

"He asked me how you were," she told him, "so I started talking about you. He got annoyed, because I said something about you being cute - I forget what it was." She swallowed. "It started a huge argument. He said it was obvious you liked me and that I liked you - something like that, anyway. And I told him it wasn't true." She stopped. "I slapped him when it got really bad and left."

When she finally looked at him again, his face was rather red. She couldn't name the emotion in his eyes - it was like curiosity, mixed with confusion and a small amount of hope.

"What I'm trying to say is, it was always you and me. If that makes sense. Even when I didn't know you liked me, even when I kept denying how I felt, it was always going to turn out this way. Not with Mario. With you." She gave him a weak smile. "I'm not just settling with you because you're second best. I _wanted_ you. I want _you_."

"I'm not saying things are going to be the same for a while," she added. "It still irritates me that you didn't believe in me, that you thought I'd ever do that. But I did things I regret too." She coughed. "I'm sorry for calling you a mama's boy. And... It means a lot that you wanted to save me. I guess it was just bad luck that kept you at home.

"I forgive you, Luigi. And I hope you can forgive me too."

It was only a small smile, but Daisy watched, fascinated, as the minor change in expression lit up his entire face.

"Thank you so much, Daisy," he breathed. "I don't deserve this, it was all my fault -"

Daisy interrupted his ramblings, not letting him punish himself further, and drew him close to her, resting her lips on his forehead, clinging to him as if it was the last time she would get the chance to do so.

* * *

They would go through more trials in their relationship, all couples did. They would quarrel and make up and argue again and forgive each other again and the cycle would repeat itself constantly.

But the strength of their love would overcome all of the challenges they would face, now and in the future.

And they would do it together.

* * *

 **I'm so sorry. I was hesitant about posting this chapter and I've no idea how you're all going to react. After all, fights never shed even the nicest characters in a good light. But I also have an aversion to overly perfect love stories where nothing goes wrong, which is why I decided to post this chapter in the end rather than leave it out.**

 **The next few chapters will be light-hearted so if you didn't like this particular chapter please don't let it put you off the rest of the fanfic. I also hope that the fight made sense. I thought that Daisy would have been more frustrated and done all of the shouting, while Luigi would be a bit quieter and get more upset than truly angry. Also I thought that Luigi would have low self-esteem, so surely he wouldn't have been fine with Daisy (supposedly) passionately kissing Mario at the end of Super Mario Land, and his tendency to fret would have gotten the better of his reason (it's not clear exactly what happens in that game, but I'll presume Daisy kissed Mario in _some_ form due to the heart hovering above them).**

 **Finally, aside from the more obvious, romance-related moral of the story, I guess you could also say that people should be very careful about what they say about others because words can hurt and destroy reputations and relationships. I didn't intentionally put this moral into the story, but talking negatively about others is actually something I'm trying to improve on lately (I don't have a serious issue, but sometimes truthful but not-so-nice things do slip out).**

 **Wow, that was long! Please review and let me know what you thought.**


	21. Babies

**Thanks to Mariogeek, cristopher. ahumada. vasquez, TalonatorMan, Yostein010 and LuigiLover3174 for favouriting and following, and Colorful and Free, HiyaItsHails, Infinite's Ruby, aiai3668 and Mariogeek for reviewing!**

* * *

They couldn't cope anymore.

Two screaming, inconsolable babies thrashed their limbs as a pair of highly annoyed adults held them in their arms. One, a young, redheaded woman wearing a crown, was ramming a bottle into the also red-haired - and red-faced - baby's mouth, with no success. The other, a man dressed in a green sweater and overalls, was humming an off-key lullaby, desperately trying to soothe his own infant.

Some parents who did not keep up with Sarasaland politics and therefore didn't know that something was amiss passed the pair as they sat under a tree, holding their children's hands and shaking their heads in sympathy. They too had gone through the same thing a few years previously. They understood the struggle of attempting to get their little ones to sleep.

But those people were mistaken, for the young couple were not parents - not for now, anyway, and hopefully not anytime soon either. They were, in fact, victims of an experiment gone wrong.

An elderly scientist going by the name of Professor Elvin Gadd - a friend of Luigi's - had created a new time machine, and Daisy had been excited to try it out - Peach, Mario and Luigi had had enough of time travel after a certain adventure. But E. Gadd had insisted that this new time machine had been tested and had a success rate of 99.99 percent - unknown to the others, it had only been tried out twice, with three of the Toad volunteers still trapped in the past.

E. Gadd's memory wasn't quite as sharp as it used to be.

So, when the princesses and the plumbers agreed to try it out, nothing took place for an entire minute.

"Why isn't anything happening?" Daisy had asked impatiently.

"Have patience, Princess!" E. Gadd chortled. "It takes a while for this old thing to work. Any minute now..."

More time passed... but contrary to what had been expected, the four adults didn't end up in the past. Rather, four babies ended up in the future - along with, to the others' puzzlement, three Toads, their faces as green as the polka dots on their heads.

E. Gadd had scratched his head in confusion, then laughed and clapped his hands.

"Haha! How did this happen?" he said, giving a toothy grin to the Toads.

The Toads trembled as they spoke.

"We were in that time machine experiment, Professor!"

"It was scary! We saw us as kids. We saw our parents too and they didn't recognise us! We thought we'd never get out of there!"

"I won't be sleeping anymore after that..."

E. Gadd had stared at them. "I don't remember seeing you before. Ho ho! I must have forgotten all about you. My memory's not quite as good as it was when I was your age, ho ho!"

The Toads had gawped at him in alarm. They would never volunteer for a scientific test again. One of them thought of what his mother always said: pride came before a fall. And that was what they'd been - proud. They had been proud of themselves for doing something nobody else had the guts to do. Now, they were left to deal with the consequences.

The traumatised trio scampered away from the scientist, wanting nothing more to do with him or his tests.

Meanwhile, Peach heard a whimper next to her; when they looked down, they saw a petrified baby with a halo of blonde curls surrounding her head. Her large eyes were beginning to water, and her mouth was set in a pout.

A glass-shattering wail had forced everyone around her to cover their ears, for fear of rupturing an ear drum. They only noticed, then, that there were three other babies sitting next to them, open-mouthed, staring at the blonde infant. Soon they followed suit, and a cacophony of screams ensued.

"What's all of this?" a perplexed Mario had shouted over the noise. "Is this the past?"

"I think these babies might be us!" Luigi had exclaimed, picking up the baby in green and examining his face. The infant's exceptionally large nose and bright blue eyes confirmed his statement.

"No way!" Daisy had gasped, glancing at her younger counterpart. She scrunched up her nose in distaste at the baby's contorted, puce-coloured face. "Wow, I had no idea I was such an ugly crier..."

"Poor Toadsworth," Peach had winced, taking up the blonde into her arms and trying to comfort her.

"I know how you feel," Luigi had said. "And Mamma had two of us..."

After figuring out that the adults were actually still in the present, E. Gadd had started tweaking his machine, and Peach had suggested they shop for baby supplies in case the babies were in the "future" for a long time. They had then returned to her castle to take care of the babies. Once fed and changed, they had a few hours' peace as the infants slept.

But, when they woke up, they began to cry again, louder than the last time. Mario and Luigi threw their younger selves in the air and caught them, and Toadsworth remembered that spinning himself around or acting in an otherwise silly manner had always cheered up the Princess in the past. Within minutes, all of the babies had calmed down except for Baby Daisy.

Daisy had had enough of the spoilt little princess, so she'd decided to play with Baby Luigi instead. But that was the biggest mistake she had made: as it turned out, the boy in green was afraid of peek-a-boo - maybe it was the mention of Boos, or perhaps it was down to the fish-like expression Daisy had made each time she revealed her face.

To summarise, Luigi and Daisy had to take their two bawling infants to the park to calm them down, and Daisy had never liked Toadsworth so much when he lent them Peach's old (pink) buggies, leading to people in the streets thinking Baby Luigi was a girl.

Which was why they were sitting under a tree in the park, with the two small children still very much upset.

"Why won't they just stop?" said Daisy, close to tears of frustration. She wasn't much of a crier, but then, she had never had to deal with the spoilt brat that was herself. Talk about karma.

"They're babies. They'll stop only when they get what they want," came the blunt reply. Luigi's brow was furrowed, and he looked uncharacteristically annoyed.

"Then what _do_ they want?" Daisy almost wailed, flinging the bottle on the grass next to her. "We've changed their diapers, we've fed them, we've walked them, what else do they want us to do?"

"Maybe they're tired," said Luigi.

"But they just slept!"

"Then I don't know, Daisy."

"Why are you acting like this?" she whined. She was unused to seeing Luigi so... cavalier. Cold. Uncaring.

"You were the one who wanted to travel in time, Daisy!"

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." But her mumbled answer remained unheard as Baby Daisy let out a high-pitched screech. By now, the people in the park were no longer glancing at them in pity - they were irritated.

"Maybe they're scared," said Luigi. "They don't know us."

"Well, how long is it going to take for them to get used to us?" Daisy scowled. "Can we please swap babies? Yours is a lot quieter."

It was true. Baby Luigi cried more, but Baby Daisy was the loudest. An unwilling Luigi handed his baby to his girlfriend, and took the redheaded infant. The young princess stared up at him, momentarily distracted by this new face. She reached out a pudgy hand, and with a giggle, grabbed his nose and pulled it. Daisy couldn't conceal a smirk as Luigi yelped in pain.

"Looks like you'll just have to let her do it," she laughed. "Unless you want her to start screaming again."

Luigi let out something between a groan and a yell, as Baby Daisy yanked harder. After a while she grew bored, and her eyelids began to close; likewise, Baby Luigi's cries died down to whimpers, and when he snuggled up to Daisy and his breaths evened out, both adults finally let themselves relax.

"I wonder what it was like for Toadsworth when he had to babysit all of us," Daisy whispered. "He told me I was a brat, but I never thought I was this bad!" Toadsworth had never hidden how he felt about Daisy as a child, though he disliked her less as she got older.

"Mamma told me I was a good baby, compared to Mario," Luigi said in a doubtful tone.

"Maybe it's just a bad day for him? Must have been scary for him to be taken away from his home."

"Maybe." Luigi seemed to be in deep thought. "I think this might have been the first time we met, technically. You and I, I mean."

"What?"

"From what I know about time travel, we've already gone through this twice, just from different points of view - as babies, and now, as adults. So, if we got taken away from the past, that means we'd already met each other in the future... If you understand what I'm saying."

"Oh, right," Daisy nodded, pretending to know what he was talking about. In her arms, Baby Luigi shifted in his sleep and stuck a thumb into his mouth.

Daisy smiled. "You know, you were actually pretty cute when you were a baby." She smirked, raising her eyes to meet Luigi's. "You still are."

Luigi chuckled shyly, lowering his gaze. Despite having gone out with Daisy for over a year, he still got moments when he felt timid around her. Baby Daisy looked completely different, much calmer when asleep, he noticed: he realised, then, that all of Daisy's personality showed in her eyes, so bright and sparkling and mischievous. Not even her confident grin or sassy posture truly showed who she was - it was her eyes, her ocean blue eyes that drew him to her.

A sudden vibration and an upbeat tune made him snap out of his reverie, and he reached a hand into his pocket. He took out his hybrid device which served as both a Game Boy Colour and a phone - nicknamed Game Boy Horror by Professor E. Gadd - and tried his best to answer the call without waking the babies up. He spoke to E. Gadd in hushed tones; apparently the scientist had fixed the time machine, and the babies were ready to return to the past.

Luigi switched off the Game Boy and smiled. Maybe one day he would get married and have a family - at the moment Daisy would be his choice for a future wife, though only time would tell whether that happened or not - but for now, he was content with spending time with Daisy alone, while they were still young, while they had less responsibilities, while they _could_.

* * *

 **I know I say this all the time, but this isn't really my favourite chapter - it's not even that I don't like these "not my favourite" chapters, it's just that there are other chapters in this story that I like a lot more. Also I figured that Luigi wouldn't be prepared to marry Daisy just yet, hence the wording in the last paragraph (I mean, obviously if he had to marry someone right now it'd be Daisy, but _at the moment_ he's not ready and he's perfectly happy just being her boyfriend; like I said before, I'm taking this slow). Finally, I hope that E. Gadd's character was okay since he's never been a major character in any of my stories (he won't be major here, either, just for this chapter). **

**Hopefully nobody's annoyed by the rather long wait for this chapter, and that the quality of the writing is okay and made the wait worth it. Please review and let me know what you thought!**


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